The Masks We Wear
by BarelyPresent
Summary: Taylor's story doesn't always need to start in the Locker. Nor does her power need to be granted by Scion. What if a golden being a little more ... benevolent decided to lend a hand?
1. Forging 1-1

The Masks We Wear Chapter 01

Worm/Bionicle

Forging 1.1

They said it was a meteorite, that I was lucky to be alive; a miracle of the like that only capes can achieve. They thought I was a parahuman.

They were wrong.

I even agreed with them on the second point, though not for the reasons they thought. If the crater _was_ caused by a meteorite, I most certainly would have died. I mean, what kind of meteorite doesn't stay in its own crater?

Anyway, I know what I saw, what I felt that night, in the woods. A brief glimpse of an ornate metal mask; like one of those old anatomy diagrams looming over my crumpled form. The golden metal cast in flickering shadow, illuminated by the fires of its impact. Echoes of emotions that were not my own as my body knitted itself back together and the pain fled.

 _ **Concern**_

 _ **Curiosity**_

 _ **Anger**_

 _ **Regret**_

 _ **Determination**_

 _ **Resolve**_

And then a blinding light, piercing through my eyelids, a rush of displaced air, before the stillness descended once more. The next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital with my dad asleep beside my bed, contorted into one of the plastic chairs that seems only to exist to ruin your spine. As I blinked through my eyelashes, my mind exploded full of images, of masks not unlike the one I remembered from the forest. Masks of beautiful simplicity, of elegance, and those angular, more ominous. My dad took me home, not deeming the camp safe for me anymore. I think my brush with death hit a bit too close to home, losing mum and me both would have destroyed him. He was barely keeping himself together as he was, spending ever increasing days and weeks at work, so much that I barely saw him anymore.

After my close call he was better, less distant and we spoke again like we used to, before we lost mum. Instead of being two strangers living in the same house, we were approaching something like a family again. That saying, about the wealth of water and the well being dry? Couldn't but help but think that was what finally jolted us into cohesion again. Or the threat of it anyway.

I think that was what saved me, looking back, when Emma stared down at me, denouncing our friendship, eyes full of scorn and mocking. Throwing away the past years of companionship like trash without a second thought. When I ran home crying into my dad's shoulder, turning his shirt into a sodden mess, his warm arms around me, comforting me, I knew. I knew there was someone there for me, that I wasn't alone.

That night was the first time I had the dreams; the first time the ideas floating in the back of my mind became more than just that, ideas. The first time I realised they were something more than my mind dreaming up half-baked images based of what I remembered from that night at camp. That I realised for the first time that I may just have powers.

That I was a cape.

"You're calling me a liar?!"

I flinched, curling in on myself as I clutched my sketchbook to my chest, halfway down the stairs as I peered between the banisters.

"No Danny, hell, you wouldn't lie about this but, are you sure? We can hardly force them apart half the time! Now you're telling me my Emma won't even give her the time of day?"

It was the day after I'd been to see Emma. A day after my best friend had kicked me to the kerb for a reason I didn't even know. To say I was taking it well would be a lie. I hadn't cried like that since my mum passed. My dad didn't take it any better. Quite possibly the only reason he didn't go and storm the Barnes' home like some sort of Viking invader was the state I was in.

Well, let's see your best friend crush your heart into so much dust and keep your chin high.

Now it appeared my dad had called Emma's dad round to confront him over the issue. I wasn't really surprised. My family had a temper. My grandfather had it. My dad has it. My dad assures me I have it. My dad keeps his under tighter rein than some of the secrets in the Pentagon. I can't remember the last time he let it slip. I don't even think I _have_ seen it, come to think.

"Well what else am I supposed to think, she goes off to your house fine and comes back like the bloody world is ending!"

"I didn't even know she was round my house Danny! God, how would I know if she was turned away at the door if she never said anything to me?"

"Well something must have happened! Something like this doesn't happen out of thin air! She mocked her for crying when her mother died for Christ's sake! Now I don't know her as well as you do, but that doesn't sound like the Emma I know."

Emma's dad stiffened at my dad's words, breathing locking up and his eyes widening. His hands started to shake, his entire body trembling, a vast difference from the sudden stillness of before. From my perch on the stairs I could see his face pale, as he seemed to see something that wasn't there, before coming back to earth with a jolt, visibly starting in shock. He stared at my dad for a long moment before collapsing onto the couch behind him, holding his head in his hands.

"You're right Danny, by God you're right." He choked out, voice wavering.

He visibly gathered himself, clasping his hands before him as he looked my dad straight in the eye. It occurred to me that I hadn't actually ever seen Emma's dad loose his composure before. Seeing him ruffled was not actually something that I'd thought I would ever see.

"The week you rushed off to that camp. The week Taylor was… injured." He spoke quietly, as if the volume would invalidate his words if he spoke too loud.

"We were on our way home, Emma and I, it was late and there was no-one around." He chuckled hollowly.

"No-one that we knew of."

"Everything was going fine, until there was suddenly a van blocking the road. And it wasn't as if there was a little area in front of the thing, no. The street was small. You know that one just off Fulmouth?" My dad nodded in acknowledgement. "Yeah, it was that one. Anyway, like I said; van across the road in front of me, no way forward and they'd roller those giant garbage bins out behind me. Before I could think of trying to mow my way through them, something came in through the window."

"Whatever it was missed me by merely an inch, but that wasn't the problem. Regardless of whether it hit me or not, I still crashed the car like they wanted anyway. The next few minutes are a lur, but the next thing I remember is this guy standing over me. Big, tough guy, maybe 5'11, six foot? Asian guy, said something about paying toll. Anyway, I was still a bit groggy at that point, but the screaming sure as hell woke me up."

He shook his head, eyes taking on that thousand-yard stare, when someone isn't all here, but looking at someone who was looking at something far away. The haunted look in his eye made me shiver despite the warmth of the day.

"I hope to god you never have to hear Taylor scream like that Danny. It's indescribable. Something broke in me then, as I was on my face on the floor in the next moment. I don't know if the guy punched or kicked me, doesn't matter, I only cared about Emma."

My dad was getting paler the more Emma's dad spoke; the colour draining from his face by the second. I was feeling fairly ill myself. A part of me wanted nothing more than to run back upstairs and hide, but the movement would obviously alert the dads in the lounge. I was amazed they hadn't seen me yet. The other, larger part of me kept me rooted to the spot, sketchbook clasped to my chest, eyes riveted on the conversation occurring feet from my perch. I wasn't going to get a better explanation as to what had happened, for Emma's recent behaviour.

I stayed.

"She was laying there, propped up against the alley we'd been dragged to, with a woman standing over her with a knife laid against her cheek, and a second guy with… with…"

He choked on his own words, knuckles whitening as he clenched them in his lap, before forcing the words out between gritted teeth.

"With his pants down his legs."

A sharp intake of breath heralded the first words my dad had spoken since Emma's dad had started.

"Jesus Alan, was she…"

"No, thank God. I don't know what would happen if she was…"

I felt my blood freeze. Emma had almost died? She was mugged in an alley whilst I was in the hospital, maybe even when I was in the forest? She'd even almost been-

"Taylor!"

I started at the exclamation, focusing on the aghast face of my dad as he looked at me through the bannisters. Engrossed in my thoughts as I was, I hadn't noticed my hand going slack on my sketchbook, my limp grip causing it to fall, bouncing down the stairs to end up on the floor. The sound must have alerted the men to my presence.

"How much of that did you hear?" My dad asked in a choked voice, grasping for me, half-stood from his seat.

"U-uh." My tongue felt far too large in my mouth as I swallowed through a dry mouth and tried to answer.

"A-All the, uhh, important bits. Um, I think…"

My dad sighed, rubbing a hand over his face before gesturing at me, Emma's dad looking on wordlessly.

"Come here Taylor."

I moved slowly down the stairs, afraid to call too much attention to myself. The hope was pointless however, both dads staring at me as I first retrieved my sketchbook, gripping it slightly tighter than was necessary as I carefully picked my way across the floor towards my dad who then drew me into a hug as I reached him.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that kiddo." He murmured into my hair as he held my shivering form.

"It's o-okay." I hiccupped, "At least I know now, I thought it was something I'd done. She said I was weak, that she only stayed with me after my mom died out of… out of…"

"Out of what Taylor?" Emma's dad asked gently, his anger betrayed by the tautness of his jaw and the creaking of bones as he gripped his knees viciously.

"Pity." I sniffled, eyes going blurry as tears rose unbidden at the memory.

My dad suddenly stiffened under me, then started trembling with barely repressed rage as he crushed me even tighter against his chest. Emma's dad bit out a muffled curse and stood with an explosive movement, pacing across the room clenching and unclenching his fists as he moved.

"I knew she was still rattled, but I didn't know it was this bad." He ground out, swinging back to face my dad.

"This was way over the line Taylor, I'm so, so sorry. Christ Danny, I had no idea. You have to believe me!" He pleaded, his face despairing, arms opened wide in a display of honesty.

"No Alan, I know." My dad said gravely, stroking my hair as I slowly calmed down. "You wouldn't let her go that far if you knew, I know you." "This is on her." He continued with a grim finality.

Emma's dad breathed a tiny sigh of relief, relaxing imperceptibly, straightening once more.

"Thanks Danny." He sighed, "It seems like I need to have a talk with my daughter about her behaviour of late. I'll get to the bottom of this."

There was nothing of the pale, worried man I had seen before. Instead, the Lawyer stood in front of me once more, features tight in determination.

"I'll see myself out." He nodded, before quietly making his way out of the house.

It was later explained that an indie hero; Shadow Stalker had jumped in to save Emma and her dad at the point after I'd interrupted the story. After running the thugs off she had stayed to calm Emma down, talking to her until the emergency services arrived. Two days later a girl by the name of Sophia Hess appeared, with the same height, build and personality of the Barnes' saviour.

Didn't take a Thinker to realise Shadow Stalker's civilian ID was Sophia. Not when Emma followed her around like a lost puppy, parroting the other girl's views. And what views they were. The first time Emma's parents heard the reason why she had disregarded me I thought they were going to have a stroke. After the accusations had been thrown around and the explanations finished, Emma was put straight into therapy, and I gained myself a new friend.

Or maybe friend was the wrong term to use.

After Sophia learned I'd survived what everyone thought was a meteorite strike, she'd been fangirling over me worse than some of the groupies on PHO. It was a bit creepy actually. Being the epitome of a 'survivor' mind-set wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I knew I wasn't strong. My family's fracture in the wake of my mother's death was testament to that fact.

Her viewpoint rubbed me the wrong way, I'll admit. Constantly talking about those that were either 'predators' or 'prey' depending on some arbitrary slide-scale quickly got annoying. Especially since she'd used it to turn Emma against me, then done a complete 180 the next day. She couldn't see the thing had invalidated her whole worldview. And that was leaving aside the fact that she saw me as the epitome of her aspirations when I was anything but strong. Absolute ridiculousness.

Emma had slowly been improving since the infamous dad argument, but I was still wary. We were still talking, still friends, but not like we were before. There was this small part of me that would always remember the betrayal, would constantly be looking over my shoulder for the knife in my back.

It didn't take long to discover I was a Tinker. The images floating through my mind, of alien weapons, of things I hadn't even imagined before was proof enough of that. I learned early on that although I _could_ make technology more in-line with what a generic Tinker was known for, I found far more success when making my equipment in a forge, as well as bestowing certain characteristics upon my work. The users of PHO termed this a 'specialisation'. Something all Tinkers had, something that set them apart from their peers. It was probably easier that if you thought of tinkers like Armsmaster and Kid Win as 'electricians', I was a 'blacksmith'. Although, in spite of that I was rather proud of the new computer sitting on my desk at home if I do say so myself. Even more in part of the fact that I had to fight my power tooth and nail to get it to cooperate. Fortunately, computer studies was one of my strengths in school, so I wasn't completely dependent upon my power for the basic knowledge.

Of course Dad wasn't best pleased when I finally found the courage to tell him about my powers. There wasn't really much point about hiding it really. He already suspected that I was a parahuman after I survived the 'meteorite'. The fact that I was going out and buying odd pieces of metal and attempting to make a forge in the basement weren't really subtle either. The Hebert family temper made a brief reappearance then, until I pointed out that there wasn't any point being angry at a chunk of celestial rock, dubious parentage aside. The brief moment of levity headed off his rant before it really gained traction, leading to the rather obvious next battery of questions, such as what I could do, and what I was going to do.

After I'd voiced my desire to be a hero, he'd got this melancholy look on his face, before settling into a rictus of worry and concern. I'd like to think that I won the ensuing debate over my powers, but I think dad managed to wring as many concessions out of me as I did him. My base being a prime example. No-one expects a tinker to hide in a sewer after all. Even if it is disused and far enough away from the working section that the smell doesn't reach, but the premise stands.

I'd started moving my stuff down there last week with a judicious use of the teleportation 'Kanoka' I'd managed to cook up in the basement. Dad still hadn't stopped ribbing me about burning the spare sheets though.

We both decided, that as a tinker, my best advantage was in preparation. Given the amount of bullshit tinkers pull on a daily basis, going out with a pistol and a scarf wrapped round my face seemed like a joke the more I thought about it. Being head of hiring at the dockworkers association, dad knew that the more skills and achievements I had to my name, the more impressive I would look to the Protectorate when I decided to join the Wards. Or, at least that was how I had to sell it to him. It was debatable if I'd managed to convince him though; I'm pretty sure he knew the betrayal had hit me hard, and putting me in with a bunch of new people whilst I was still having trust issues, especially if they'd have to watch my back in combat, wasn't a good thing.

Given that getting the equipment needed for most of my tinkering necessitated invisibility and teleport spam when rooting around junkyards so I didn't get blindsided by one of the gangs, doing anything remotely tinker-like unmasked was a _bad idea_. In this light, buying vast quantities of metalworking tools and paint was not really an option. Because of this, the composite metal that I used for most of my creations, 'Protodermis', would remain the gleaming silver colour that my power created it as. Even so, the metal was tougher than any I'd tried to use before. Even if I had spent weeks collecting scrap to smelt to create the stuff. It was only due to the masks being different designs and my control power that I knew what everything was in the mass of metal.

Quite possibly the most surprising aspect of my power was the fact that I retained a rudimentary form of control over any of my creations that I imbued with my power. Nothing on the level of true control, but enough to send simple commands such as 'turn on', or 'decrease to half power'. Nothing ground-breaking, but it did allow me to understand every aspect of my creations, as well as give me a limited sort of omniscience, at least within my base. Or any other structure with a high amount of protodermis in it.

There were three main branches of my power; synthesising the protodermis from mundane metals, infusing the subsequent metals with differing aspects, and the small amount of control I exerted over anything I'd built. Each of these had its own sub-sets. When dad and I had talked through all the aspects of my power, this had been a minor stumbling block. We'd eventually written it off as 'tinker bullshit' before we gave up on the rules of physics entirely; my powers completely invalidated the conservation of energy; otherwise I was pulling from an external source. Dad thought that last part was too crazy to contemplate, but I had my suspicions.

The infusion aspect of my power was the part that gave me the most utility, allowing me to infuse my masks, projectiles and parts of my armour with additional characteristics. Characteristics that I could then use as if they were my own power. Tinkers were definitely bullshit; super speed, enhanced strength, flight, and that was only a few of the types I'd discovered. Not all of the infusion characteristics were transferrable however, some of the abilities that I'd infused into my masks I was unable to infuse into my armour, and vice-versa. Some though, like speed, worked both ways. The teleport discs I'd created also allowed me to imbue my armour with the ability to summon and exchange various pieces of my armoury.

Another of my more useful creations was the dome I termed the Suva. A round half-sphere set into the ground and wall of my base, it allowed me to switch between any of the masks that I'd stored in it; teleporting each onto my helmet for me to use as needed. My repertoire of masks at the moment only included three; the Kanohi Calix; mask of fate, the Kanohi Huna; mask of concealment, and the Kanohi Hau; mask of shielding. I'd mainly used the Huna thus far for aforementioned junkyard diving in order to accumulate scrap.

They weren't absolutes however; my shielding mask, the Hau, was a personal shield only, it had two settings, on or off. I couldn't change the diameter or strength of the shield at all, whatever I did it stubbornly remained at arm's length. If I wanted to use it to protect someone, I would have to get _in between_ them and the threat, then pray that whatever it was wasn't able to overwhelm the shield.

Further testing proved similar restrictions.

The Calix, though allowing me to make near-impossible acts of acrobatics, wasn't encroaching on cape territory. It was more like the martial arts I'd seen on the internet, or those parkour videos. Impressive, but only at the level of a normal human. The Huna, though rendering me invisible, didn't muffle any noise I made, nor did it get rid of my shadow. It really did what it said on the tin; 'concealment', not sneakiness. That was down to me, the mask just ensured people couldn't see me.

Eh, I'd probably find something to fill that gap eventually if the bullshit I'd pulled so far was any indication.

Racing through the gloom of the boat graveyard, my breath sounded harshly in my ears as I forced myself through the small gap before me, hoodie snagging and tearing on the jagged edges of the hull as I hurtled through the gap; the thunk of a crossbow bolt embedding itself into the metal behind me spurring me forward.

The differences between myself and Sophia had come to a head last Thursday despite my best efforts, either of us unwilling or unable to comprehend the other's perspective. Her warped predator/prey mind-set had clashed with my own self-depreciation over my mother's death for the last time. We were simply too different, and unless we came to an agreement, we would continue to butt heads. So, we'd decided to resolve the issue the way any self-respecting cape would; with our fists.

How did I get myself into these situations again?

I burst out of the rusting carcass of the boat that I was using as cover, tearing across the uneven ground toward the next hull, counting in my head as I went.

Reaching the third count, I spun on my heel, raising my weapon in the direction of the boat I'd just vacated. Without hesitation, the newest addition to my armoury unloaded a ball of electricity into the listing structure, just as Sophia burst through the warped metal, moving at a dead sprint.

The Zamor Launcher was one of several projects that I'd been working on in preparation for this inevitable fight, but it was the only one to have been completed in time. The white ball soared straight for Sophia, crossing the distance before she'd even finished phasing through the boat.

Unfortunately, that trick only worked the first few times I'd tried it, and Sophia was already moving before she'd even seen the attack, throwing herself to the side and rolling out of the way of the projectile, reverting to her human form as she reached her feet, crossbow loaded and aimed in my direction.

She was good. She had to be, to have survived as a vigilante for as long as she had, but I'd done my research. As the black-clad cape rolled out of the way of my attack, I reached for the Suva, and one of my masks within. Drawing upon the Kanohi Calix; the mask of Fate, I stamped down, causing one of the rusted pipes beneath my feet to summersault into the air beside me.

Rising lightly on the balls of my feet, I spun; delivering a textbook roundhouse to the pipe. My greaves slammed into the metal with a clang; sending the spinning tube downrange. The impromptu projectile reached Sophia just as she straightened, knocking her weapon out of her hands and sending it skittering into the darkness behind her.

Barely flinching at the surprise attack, Sophia slipped into her Breaker state once more, jumping straight into the air whereupon she landed on the deck of one of the ships before reverting once more and turning to face me.

"And you say you're weak!" She crowed, voice breathless with an emotion I was hesitant to identify.

"You've been a cape barely two months and already you can already keep up with me!"

I sighed, already used to the euphoria in her voice from being the focus of weeks of her adoration. I'd just decided to run with it, since she only became more zealous the more I tried to dissuade her. Figures that the only thing that would be able to change her point of view would be through pitched battle. Some people really were simple.

Not even bothering to respond, I launched myself at the hull of the boat Sophia was using as a vantage point. My whole strategy at this for this battle was to deny her the advantage of close quarters combat. Due to the effectiveness of her hit-and-run tactics in tight spaces due to her ability to simply ignore walls, it was in my best interests to draw her to an exposed area bereft of structures she could use to blindside me. Part of this strategy was my electrocution of every conductive surface she put between herself and me, and limiting myself in open areas. Like Pavlov, I hoped to induce a specific behavioural trait into Sophia; specifically, the knowledge that metal equalled pain and open spaces resulted with myself with reduced capabilities.

Of course, this was blatantly untrue. The boat graveyard was filled with so much metal that even the open areas could become a veritable storm of lightning if I so wished. I just had to get her into a situation that I couldn't lose here in the maze of rust that gave the graveyard its name.

True to form, as I lit up the boat Sophia was on with my Zamor, she phased once more, leaping over my head, crossbow bolts raining around me as I ran. Dropping the enhanced reflexes the Cailx granted me for the defensive capabilities of the Hau; I weathered the storm of bolts, darting between two shadowy hulks as I continued to lure Sophia.

"Come! On! Hebert! You can take me head on, so take me head on!"

I smirked, hearing steps start behind me before going silent, a tell-tale sign that Sophia was pursuing me in her Breaker state, just like I wanted. I ducked through the halls of the defunct vessel, portholes flashing past me as I called upon the power of my final mask; the Kanohi Huna, disappearing from sight.

Of course, this did nothing to muffle my footsteps, my boots clanking loudly on the walkways with the ring of steel upon steel. I had no illusions that Sophia wouldn't be able to find me eventually, she'd been at this superhero game for longer than I had, for one. This was only to buy me time to set up the final confrontation.

Which is why I was understandably surprised when Sophia abruptly appeared before me, coalescing into her human form as her leg snapped out, her foot embedding itself into my ribs, sending me and my Zamor Launcher bouncing opposite ways across the floor, winded and visible once more.

Unfortunately, her kick had hit me in one of the few places I was lacking in armour. It took me a month to realise I could make my own metal; protodermis from scrap metal I'd smelted. Due to this, I only had the better part of the last month to construct my various pieces of equipment. Before the confrontation with Sophia, I was only able to make the helmet, chestplate, gauntlets and greaves of my armour. This meant my upper arms, legs and the lower parts of my abdomen were left uncovered, and she'd kicked me directly underneath the part of my body where my armour ended.

Looks like I wasn't the only one who'd done her homework.

As I blinked tears of pain from my eyes, Sophia drew her second crossbow, levelling it at my prone form. The winning conditions of our bout were simple; fight to unconsciousness, immobility or surrender. If she managed to pin me to the floor I was done for, and Sophia would win. Growling, I called on the Calix, windmilling my legs and knocking the weapon from her hands as I leapt up into a crouch.

Sweeping my leg round in an attempt to take her feet out from under her turned into a grapple fight on the floor as she jumped over my outstretched leg, grabbing me by the neck as my back was partially turned. I forced one of my arms up into her hold before she could start choking me out, pulling her hood over her face to restrict her vision with the other as I did so.

We struggled briefly for a few seconds before I heard the rasp of metal on metal just below me. Peering down through my rapidly darkening vision, I saw Sophia attempting to retrieve her crossbow with her leg, slowly pulling it closer even as she attempted to choke me into unconsciousness.

Letting her pull the crossbow just a bit closer, I waited a moment before lashing out with an axe-kick from my position on the floor, slamming my shin into Sophia's outstretched leg and snapping the crossbow beneath it.

Sophia let out a small cry of pain behind me, loosening her hold ever so slightly. Using the room that granted me, I forced my arm up against her arms, breaking her hold on me. I slipped out of her clutches, gasping as I rolled to my feet, putting some distance between us.

"Heh, should have known that wouldn't keep you down Hebert." Grinned Sophia, gingerly resting her weight on one leg until she was sure the leg I kicked wouldn't buckle beneath her weight.

"I knew this was gonna be fun when we started!" She crowed, shaking out her shoulders and settling into a ready stance once more.

Grinning despite myself, I charged, leading with a straight right that she dodged easily, before crumpling around my knee as I drove it up into her gut. With Sophia staggering backwards as the air rushed out of her lungs, I jabbed her in her shoulder, sending the black-clad cape into a spin that she turned into a roundhouse, her foot crashing into me for the second time tonight.

Our positions reversed; I was now the one staggering breathlessly whilst Sophia closed the distance, managing to connect with a solid left jab before I managed to get my guard up, her follow-up right hook glancing off my gauntlets.

My answering right was palmed away, leaving me open; a vulnerability that Sophia exploited ruthlessly. Her right fist came up in an uppercut, striking me on the chin so hard I felt my helmet ring like a bell. Staggering back to gain distance, I was only barely able to deflect the next flurry of jabs, returning with one of my own as she overextended.

My mouth stretched into a wide grin under my helmet, the rush of battle filling me. _This_ was what I needed. This feeling of accomplishment, of tangible results. Me, a novice Tinker with half a suit of armour and little to no weaponry, was holding off an experienced vigilante. On my own. After all the weeks of doubt, of jumping at shadows waiting for the gangs to drag me from my bed, of waiting for Emma to decide I was not worth her time once more, of Sophia's hero-worship and dad's fretting. For the first time since my mother died I finally felt comfortable in my own skin. I knew who I was.

And I was _loving_ it.

I let out a laugh of pure joy as I sent Sophia into another spin, the other girl recovering in a crouch and coming at me like a football player. I rose to the challenge, meeting her halfway. But instead of the impact I anticipated, I almost stumbled in shock as Sophia phased, her wispy form flowing through me, reforming on the other side just in time to wrap her leg around mine, sending me crashing to the ground.

 _Two can play at that game._

The Calix turned my headlong tumble into a smooth forward roll, but even with the assistance of the mask I barely curled myself into a ball in time. Screeching to a stop, sparks flying behind me, I lashed out with the back of my hand as I closed, teleporting a Zamor directly into my waiting hand as I swung. The improvised Taser caught Sophia as, once again, she phased to avoid my blow, the strike sending her careering down the corridor, skidding along the metal on her back.

Before she could recover, I was on top of her, prepared to bring my fist down in a strike that would end the fight. But before I could connect, she disappeared from beneath me, phasing through the floor as my swing hit nothing but air.

Raising to my feet, I rubbed my ribs and made a beeline for my Zamor Launcher before continuing to the open area I'd spied earlier in the fight. Prolonging the conflict only benefitted my opponent; whilst I may have been holding my own, she had more experience and it would only take one slip on my part for her to put me down hard. Besides, I was starting to tire, and the more I exhausted my reserves of energy the more likely I was going to make a mistake.

Launching myself out of a window with the tinkling of glass to accompany my descent, I hit the ground, tucking into a roll to preserve my momentum as I pelted forward on the rapidly shifting surface, my greaves scattering the scrap metal with every step I took.

Stopping in the middle of the area, I took a moment to check my surroundings. The clearing was a rough triangle shape, hemmed in on all sides by the hulls of rusting ships. It was the sort of area a movie would use for a boss fight. There was no way Sophia could refuse.

Sure enough, a black wispy form vaulted from the ship I'd just vacated, rolling to absorb their impact before charging me straight on, still in Breaker form. _Oh Sophia, you really don't think I'm just going to wait for you to reach me do you?_

Taking a suitably serious stance, I turned my side to Sophia, raising one arm to point at her, readying my Zamor to fire. It was only due to the enhanced senses adrenaline granted me in battle that saw the minute stiffening of Sophia's posture as her wispy form continued to barrel toward me.

We both knew that the next few seconds would decide everything. If I missed, I would not be in a position to prepare myself before she would be on me. On the other hand, if I hit Sophia, the metal around her would amplify my attack as the lightning grounded itself, leaving her out of the fight.

Good thing I didn't intend to miss then.

Narrowing my eyes and preparing myself for what would happen next, I tensed my muscles in order to move.

And jumped.

It was more of a hop really. It was too small to be called a jump, barely taking me over a foot in height. But it was enough. It was also a stupid decision. The jump heavily impacted my aim, and I wouldn't get my feet on the ground again in time to brace for Sophia's assault. She knew this, and the wispy form of my opponent hesitated for just a moment.

And it was in that moment that I struck.

Flaring my levitation panels to keep myself in the air, I fired. Not at Sophia, but toward the ground.

The metal-strewn, uneven ground.

The ball speared from my launcher, impacting upon the ground before shooting lightning out around me, the white fingers trailing out, spreading across the clearing in the blink of an eye. Sophia was blown back instantly by the impact. Unable to react to my attack in time, she reverted back to her physical form as she tumbled through the air.

Before she even hit the ground, I moved. Throwing my launcher aside, I let myself drop to the ground, my protesting muscles propelling me across the still-sparking ground as I raced to close with Sophia. To her credit, she was halfway to a sitting posture when I reached her, arm up in warning.

We stayed in that position for one endless second; me crouched over her, Sophia still in the process of getting up, before Sophia let out a huff of laughter, splaying her hands in the classic 'surrender' posture. Before she slumped back onto the floor with a clatter of displaced metal.

"Bloody hell Hebert, you win yeah? You should have more faith in yourself."

I let a chuckle escape me as I slumped over, finally allowing my aching muscles to rest as I pulled in great gasps of air to fill my burning lungs.

"You certainly didn't make it easy."

"Couldn't go anything except full tilt against you y'know. I wouldn't stand a chance otherwise."

"Sophia, I've said this before." I laughed, raising my hand towards the sky and clenching my fist, blotting out the star that always drew my eye; "I'm not strong. I've had too many things remind me of that." I finished sombrely, letting my fist fall to my side with a clash of metal.

"No."

I started, turning my head to stare at the other girl as her voice took on a more serious tone.

"Maybe you don't notice it yet, but you are strong. Stronger than me at any rate." Her voice took on a self-depreciating tone that unsettled me, but before I could interrupt, she continued.

"I mean, you're new, I've been at this for months. And you beat me. You beat me solidly; without even half your stuff. And even before that; what Emma and I did to you, you got back up from that, took us to task. Hell!"

I jumped despite myself as she shouted the last word, sending another small pile of junk scattering.

"It took a fucking meteor to get you to trigger, and even then you survived it!"

The girl turned to me then, looking me straight in the eye through her hockey mask as she continued;

"Wonder what it would have taken to trigger you if the thing hadn't hit. No Hebert, you're strong. You just need to realise it. You're _the_ survivor. I mean, you enjoyed this right?"

I blinked in surprise.

Had she planned this? Pushed me so far in our arguments until she invoked the Hebert rage? To get me to value my powers, my strength? To get me to see myself through her eyes?

I laughed despite myself, remembering my joy of the fight, of the adrenaline pounding through my body. Of finally _belonging._

 _Well played Hess, well played._

"Hey, Sophia?"

"Yeah?"

I smiled, letting my amusement over the situation leak into my voice as I spoke;

"Call me Taylor."

"Sure thing." And I could _hear_ the smirk in her voice as she continued; "Tay-Tay."

I barked out a laugh, rolling towards her and swinging my arm over her in a one-armed hug as I manipulated my belt with the other, activating the teleportation disc set into the buckle, the pair of us disappearing from the graveyard seconds before Velocity blurred to a stop where we lay moments before.


	2. Forging 1-2

The Masks We Wear Chapter 02

Worm/Bionicle

Forging 1.2

*Clang*

*Clang*

*Clang*

The rhythmic sound of a hammer striking steel echoed through the cavernous halls as I finished up my latest project, each peal of the hammer imbuing the metal with a sliver of my power.

It was a few weeks past the confrontation with Sophia. We'd come to an agreement; I wouldn't beat up on myself too much, and she wouldn't constantly make comments about predators, prey and said people's worth to society. It had mostly been successful. Even if she was still trying to prove my own strength to me.

I'd mostly gotten used to it.

Our relationship now was an odd one, but it worked for us, and we were steadily getting more comfortable with each other as we ironed out each other's prickly parts. She still was less than cordial, callous even, to those she deemed 'unworthy', but she was getting better. She still wasn't my favourite person in the world, and I still did kind of hold a grudge that she had turned Emma against me. I was willing to overlook that to a certain extent however; she had saved her life, after all.

Sophia was a quantifiable existence. She saw the world in the terms of the strong and the weak, those that were worth her time, and those that weren't. At the moment, I sat atop the summit of her mentality. Hopefully, by the point she saw the truth about me she, and I would be friends and she wouldn't abandon me. I didn't know if I would be able to take that a second time.

It was sad, but at this point I trusted Sophia more than Emma. I'd never forget her betrayal. Forgive? Under the circumstances, mostly. Once the therapy had taken hold enough for her to stop clinging to Sophia for a pillar she'd come apologising. I'd accepted, somewhat. She really hadn't been in her right mind at the time and well… I really wanted my friend back.

The way she went out of her way to accede to my requests was a bit… I dunno really. I couldn't decide if it was endearing or creepy. Especially when she began taking off her… NO. Don't think about it Taylor, you'll flatten your thumb you stupid girl. Stop thinking about how you're now intrinsically tied to your former best friend's self-worth.

Sensing the stream of power draining into the mask on the anvil ebb, then stop completely, I felt the concept of 'strength' settle into it. I carefully adjusted the tongs I was using to keep the lump of metal steady, securing their grip to prevent the mask from tumbling to the concrete floor below. Placing both hands on the handles of the tongs, I hefted the slowly cooling mask into a bucket of water next to my forge, the metal cooling rapidly with a hiss of steam, the vapour briefly obscuring my vision.

While I waited for the mask to cool fully, I took the time to look over my base. My secret base. Even now, I felt a small thrill of excitement run through me at the thought. It looked good for an old deserted part of sewer, all things considered.

The area in which I was standing was the area that I'd been using as my workshop. It was also one of the parts that I'd had to modify the least. It was a rather open area, one of a few that had been in the general surrounding area, and one of the few that I'd not had to spend ages hacking at with a pickaxe to expand. My tools lined the wall next to my forge and mechanical bellows; I'd realised rather quickly that automating that specific part of the process would save me a lot of time and backache. They were all lined up within easy reach. Or well, a close distance anyway.

My designs and ideas filled up the opposite wall, the paper as far from the fire as they could get. That had been another lesson I'd learned quickly. Half-drawn masks and blades were scattered over several metres of paper, filling the table and falling off the sides. Thick white bands of fluorescent lighting ran across the ceiling in parallel lines, illuminating the workbenches of paper and metal as the steam rose in waves of obscuring white.

Judging the mask sufficiently cooled, I bought the tongs out of the water, setting the mask ( _Pakari_ my power supplied) down on the bench, wiping the excess water off with a cloth. After drying the mask, I left the area of my base I'd been using as my workshop, picking the mask up by the slots running down the cheek, threading it through my fingers. Glancing at a half-built suit of pitch-black armour as I left, I worked my way through the tunnels towards what I'd hesitantly termed as the armoury. As I walked I took stock of the improvements I'd made since I claimed this section of the tunnels. Where once there had been bare concrete and moss, the grey walls were clean, lacking any of the filth that had been present before. Strip lights threaded their way along the corridors at head level, illuminating the formerly pitch-black walkways. Reaching my destination, the monotony of concrete giving way to a sheen of metallic silver, I stepped through the blast doors into the room beyond.

While my workshop still had remnants of its old use as a sewer, my armoury was nothing like the cold grey walls of the structure I'd claimed. As I took my first step forward, white light spread out from the tile underneath my foot, ripples spreading across first the floor, then the walls and finally the ceiling as I continued into the room, until the whole room was illuminated. Making my way over to one side, I mentally willed the dome set into the wall to rotate, pushing itself out of the wall and into the room as it did so.

As the domed structure, the Suva, extended from the wall, it rotated, scrolling past the masks I'd already made; Shielding, Speed, Concealment, Accuracy, Fate, and Flight. I stopped in front of the Suva just as it stopped rotating. Setting the Pakari atop the device with a click, the entire dome glowed briefly before the mask I'd just made disappeared with a flash of light. I felt the weight of the new Kanohi settle into the Suva in the back of my mind and turned away, idly instructing the dome to recede into the wall as I strode over to check on my completed armour.

I stared into the mirrored surface of my helmet, appreciating the way it reflected my face back at me. In reality, the helmet was only there for my HUD and the mount for the Suva connection. Being connected to the dome let me switch between each of the Kanohi within at a moment's notice, allowing me to access their powers.

I scanned over the rest of the suit, the subtle curves mirroring my own. The suit would fit closely to my body, leaving very little excess weight and panelling. I'd seen enough videos of Tinkers getting inconvenienced by superfluous struts and pieces of their armour that I was sticking to the age-old adage of 'less is more'. At least I didn't need to build giant bird wings to fly like that one tinker from California. How he never got those monstrosities caught on buildings I'd never know.

The rest of my armour was either the shining silver colour of the protodermis, or the black of my under-armour. Although it wasn't as visually impressive as some of the tinker armour I'd seen, I made up for the lack by infusing as many of my tricks into the various armour panels as I could.

The most annoying thing about that was that in order to get anything that wasn't a mask onto my armour, I had to first craft a circular disk, a Kanoka, whilst imbuing it with the desired effect, _then_ shape that into an armour panel. And no, I didn't know why I couldn't just make the armour with the effect. It wasn't like my powers came with an instruction manual. Out of the abilities that I could give my discs, teleportation, speed, levitation and regeneration were the most useful ones I'd discovered, as well as the ones I'd attached to my armour. The first three made me more mobile than I had any right to be in a suit of metal, and the last gave my armour a self-repair function.

Judging my armour to have no more need of maintenance than the last time I'd checked over it, I exited the armoury, letting the lights flicker off one by one. I walked out of my base, past the collapsed sections that I'd used to seal my base against discovery, strategically demolishing entire sections in order to effect the appearance of the failing structure I was aiming for. Picking up my bag as I strode past, I pressed a button on the side of my watch, the small teleportation disc within instantly transporting me to an abandoned alley only a few blocks from my house. Letting out a sigh of relief as I checked my surroundings, I moved out of the alley.

I'd done it. My armour was complete and my preparations were ready. I strolled home through the quiet December night with a spring in my step. Dad would be home early tonight; we were making dinner together, something that was happening more often nowadays. I'd finished my homework for the winter break, my relationships with Emma and Sophia was improving and my armour were ready to roll.

My life was looking up.

I sped down the length of the abandoned sewer, my armour a streak of silver in the strip lighting as I pumped my arms, the tunnels blurring into a single grey smudge with white lines as I poured on the speed. Noticing a specific turning, or more accurately, the blip in my surroundings signifying one, I dug my heels into the surface under my feet, sparks erupting beneath me as I screeched to a halt, flailing my arms wildly in a panic. I was suddenly glad that I had decided to spend the weekend practicing with my armour, instead of jumping out and running into the gangs at the first opportunity.

See Dad?! I did listen to your points!

Exhibit A: my enhanced speed did not equate to enhanced perception or reflexes. When using my Kakama, my surroundings were reduced to a blur, an almost indistinguishable mess of colour. It was fortunate I recognised the halls of my base under these conditions, otherwise I would currently be a smear on the collapsed section of wall in front of me.

Once I'd stopped gawking at the rubble, I quickly realised that I wasn't gasping on the floor, holding my ribs or calves. The Kakama had protected me from nasty friction burns and I wasn't out of breath. So I didn't have the perception or reflexes needed to use the mask for prolonged periods of time, but I had enhanced endurance while using it? Eh, one for three at least. It seemed like I would have to use it like Battery's speed then, in short bursts, but it wasn't anything I couldn't deal with.

It seemed like that was a common theme with my Kanohi so far; they gave amazing but not perfect capabilities in one direction, with a small vulnerability or niggle that meant they weren't game-breakingly powerful.

The Kadin for example allowed me to fly at speeds faster than my baseline top speed, but not faster than my enhanced speed using my Kakama. So I wouldn't be doing a Legend any time soon. I had yet to find a time limit to the effects, spending most of the morning floating around like some small child's balloon.

The Sanok, on the other hand was the sort of bullshit I'd been accustomed to when trawling through PHO looking at other cape's powers. As far as I could tell, it allowed me to hit my target with any ranged weapon. Every. Single. Time. I had even resorted to firing my Zamor over my shoulder _away_ from my target, only to see the sphere bounce from the floor, to the wall, then off the ceiling to strike the head of the outline I'd drawn on the wall.

I'd just thrown my hands up in the air, accepted once again that Tinkers were all sorts of bullshit and moved onto other things.

Hopefully things that wouldn't give me headaches.

It was mid-afternoon when a small, red box appeared on the lower-left cornerof my HUD, flashing insistently. Halting my experiments with the Sanok and the Zamor Launcher, I dismissed the mask, leaving my helmet with the smooth mirror surface. Subvocalizing the command to expand the message, I quickly read over the text in front of me. It was from one of my programs I'd made to track parahuman activity across the city. It was a simple program that trawled PHO looking for keywords, such as attack, Empire, E88 and ABB. Since I wasn't the Protectorate, and I couldn't yet hack into the police radio, I had to resort to using those vile creatures known as the cape groupies as my information source.

So sue me, I hadn't been a Tinker for six months yet.

Upon reading the message, I felt the blood drain from my face, staggering back a pace. It turned out that the Empire and the ABB were having a fight down by the docks. _The docks._ Panicking, I set my armour to call the landline at home. Dad had been coming home earlier than he used to ever since the day in the hospital, but he would still go into work on the weekends occasionally, although the times he did that were sporadic at best. But if today was one of those days…

I paced back and forth, running my hands over my helmet as I listened to the phone first connect, then ring, and ring, and ring, until finally I heard my dad's voice over the receiver.

"Hello, this is the Hebert residence…"

"Dad!" I yelled, relief forcing me to my knees, slumping to the floor as my strength failed me.

"I'm so glad yo-"

"I'm sorry, but we're not home right now. Please leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can. Thank you."

*Beep*

I trailed off as the voice of my dad on the answering machine spoke back to me, the earlier relief draining away, quickly replaced with sheer panic.

I would lose him. Maybe not like mom, but I would lose him all the same. Just after we had started to reconnect as a family again. Tears rolled down my cheeks as I bought my hand up to my mouth to muffle my sobs. It was mom all over again, I was too far to help, to prevent the inevitable and I was helpless to-

I stilled, every muscle in my body going taut at the sight of my hand, clenched in front of my face.

 _My metallic, Tinker-tech clad hand._

No. This time was different. I was not powerless. I was not going to sit back and watch the world take another parent away from me again. I was not the Taylor that had cried for a week straight. I was not the Taylor that had collapsed in tears after Emma's betrayal. I was the Taylor that laughed with my dad once more, who had risen above the guilt, the self-loathing. I had walked away from an event that would have killed anyone else, and emerged all the stronger from it. I would protect those close to me, or die trying. I was a cape now, a hero, I was, I was…

I was really in need of a cape name.

I soared through the sky, pushing every ounce of will I could spare into powering the Kadin propelling me towards the plumes of smoke slowly rising over the city. Further looks at PHO reported sightings of the Wards, Clockblocker and Aegis. Hopefully they would keep the opposing gangs occupied long enough for me to get my dad out of there. Well, my dad and the other dockworkers. I may have had priorities, but I wasn't heartless. Flying out with just my dad would at best would paint me a kidnapper, and at worst out me immediately. On my first day. Not exactly a stellar hero career there, Hebert.

I'd had a brief, rushed conversation with Sophia. It was more me screaming down the phone at her but, well… The important thing was that she was on her way, but it would take her time to get here. I either had to wait for her to arrive or I had to somehow hold out until then.

As I got closer, I ducked down into the alleyways leading to the battleground. I exchanged my Kadin for the Huna and tossed down a teleportation disc that appeared in my hand, _just in case._ I then disappeared from sight as I peered over at the fight, slowly making my way closer. One of the first things dad had gotten me to promise to do when he'd first learned about my powers was to fight smart. That meant scouting the area, no matter how much I wanted to charge in. Running in blind only to come up against the likes of Hookwolf or Lung when there were only two confirmed good guys? Not good for my continued well-being.

As I continued to close on the fight, I managed to count five parahumans: the aforementioned Clockblocker and Aegis for the Wards, Oni Lee for the ABB and Krieg and Alabaster for the Empire. Clockblocker and Aegis seemed to have Alabaster well in hand, though Krieg was just walking through the hail of bullets from the ABB as if they'd been using water pistols. Fortunately, Oni Lee was attempting to get rid of Krieg with little success; every time he 'ported in, he would be brushed aside like a leaf in a storm, his explosives detonating well away from his target.

Looking around, I noticed movement in one of the buildings off to the side, recognising a few of the dockworkers taking cover behind desks and tables, although I didn't see my dad. The building they were in was pretty much surrounded. The only avenue of escape was directly through the E88 thugs. Fortunately, with Alabaster distracted by the Wards, and Krieg- _holy shit._ With Krieg _backhanding_ the Asians into buildings, The E88 capes were occupied. The problem was though, they had more capes than the Protectorate. I had no idea if they had called for help, or who might even respond to the call for backup when it arrived. I had no desire to fight Hookwolf while simultaneously trying to defend my dad at the same time, no sir. And that didn't even consider the presence of Lung. If I was to get them out, I had to do it now. I probably wouldn't get a better chance. Even if I did wait for Sophia or the Protectorate the chance my dad could be hit by a ricochet or a badly-aimed shot only increased. I couldn't wait.

My first priority was closing the distance. Since I was lacking in ranged options besides my Zamor Launcher, I was at a distinct disadvantage in a shootout. With my armour and my enhanced speed and strength courtesy of my Kakama and Pakari, it was in my best interests to turn this into a melee confrontation. It had the benefit of prohibiting the use of their guns since they couldn't risk friendly fire in such close quarters, and I doubted their knives could do more than scratch my armour.

Shifting into a sprinter's stance, I called on the speed enhancements my armour granted me. It wasn't as good as the Kakama, nowhere near, but it would be enough for what I needed. I crossed the intervening space in little under two seconds, dropping my Huna when I was six feet shy of the first Empire grunt. Reaching for the Suva and switching in the Calix, my target barely had time to notice me. From his point of view, I must have appeared out of thin air mid-stride, as if I had teleported.

Sure, I could have taken them all out whilst under concealment, but dad's advice resounded in my ears once more; _'Fight smart.'_ I was going to be teleporting anyway, better they think that I had teleported in, rather than the fact that I could teleport _and_ turn invisible.

His eyes widened above his bandanna as I struck out, delivering a clean punch to the side of his head, flowing around him as he dropped like a puppet with its strings cut.

The second thug didn't fare any better, falling to an axe-kick as I used his collapsing body as a springboard, vaulting over him, briefly flaring my levitation panels as I leaped, easily crossing the distance between myself and two more grunts. Clotheslining the pair, I landed in a crouch and poured on the speed once more, making a beeline for the building sheltering the dockworkers.

It was at this point that I was noticed.

"Cape! Cape! Left side! Left side!"

The grunt scrambled backwards, eyes wide, yelling as he raised his pistol in my direction before squeezing off a trio of shots. Considering the only allies he had behind me were unconscious on the floor, those behind me were fine, unless his aim was laughably bad. Still, it didn't mean I had to take the hits.

Reaching for the Calix, I shifted my centre of gravity forwards, pumping my power into the speed panels as I did so. Tucking myself into a forward roll let the first two shots pass harmlessly over my head, and coming up at an angle let the third pass under my right armpit.

I danced out of the way of the next few bullets, using the advantages the Calix gave me to recover my balance from manoeuvres even most parahumans would have struggled to pull off. Two more steps and I was in the whistle-blower's face. Unless they shot through him, the others would have to cease fire. Lo and behold, the guns in my immediate vicinity were silenced. I smirked under my helmet.

 _Gotcha._

Reaching once more for the Suva, I backhanded the grunt's pistol out of his hands, before grabbing a fistful of his collar and using my Pakari-induced strength to haul him off his feet. With my new shield in place, I continued my charge. Some of the cleverer Empire members decided to pull knives and attempt to deal with me with their blades. I batted the first pair aside with contemptuous ease, before throwing my human shield into the most tightly-packed bunch, scattering them like bowling pins.

I allowed myself a brief moment of levity at the scene as a chuckle escaped me, ducking down as bullets pinged off my armour. Good to know it did indeed withstand small arms fire. Probably should have thought about testing that before running into the middle of a gang fight.

Raising my arm to my back, I pulled my Zamor Launcher and fired a trio of shots at the remaining group of thugs, leaving them out of the fight. This time, I reached for the Kakama, stowing my Launcher, and my surroundings blurred as I accelerated. It turned out that this wasn't such a good idea. I had aimed for the door of the dockworker's building, but my lack of practice with my equipment proved to be my undoing.

I went flying as my foot caught a piece of discarded equipment I'd failed to notice beforehand, sending me tumbling head over heels. With my concentration shattered, the power of the Kakama slipped through my grasp and the world came back into focus just in time for me to crash through the window I'd seen the dockworkers through.

Yells of panic filled my ears as I cartwheeled through the air, shards of glass flying about me. With my speed slowed to more normal levels, I used the Calix to re-orient myself in mid-air, landing in a textbook three-point crouch as I skidded across the floor.

Hell yeah. Gimme an 8.0 judges.

Straightening up, I spied the recovering Empire thugs advancing towards me through the shattered window. Before the bullets started flying, I straightened, putting down the grunts with a few well-aimed shots from my Zamor. At least now I wouldn't be shot at for a few seconds as I tried to have a conversation.

"And on that note." I muttered, turning towards the cowering dockworkers.

All in all, there were fewer people that I hoped; less than a dozen. Hopefully, that meant the others had managed to escape the fighting, rather than being casualties of the violence. Scanning their faces, fortunately I spotted my dad, eyes wide in recognition, as well as Kurt and a few others I recognised from barbeques past.

Okay I made it here, now to get them out.

"Okay people!" I called, toggling my privacy settings so my helmet emitted my voice so they were able to hear me clearly.

"Before you panic, yes I am a cape, no I'm not part of a gang, and yes I am here to get you out." I placed my hands at my sides, palms splayed, in a gesture of non-aggression. They wasted time doubting me, muttering against themselves, casting wary glances at me and edging slowly away, time we didn't have. My Hau could probably stand up to small arms fire long enough for me to teleport everyone out, but against a Brute like Krieg? I wasn't going to take the chance, and it was only a matter of time before he got here.

"Look," I snapped, my panic getting the better of me. "I don't have the time."

I reached to my back and a teleportation Kanoka flashed into existence in my palm. Setting it down before me with a clank of metal on metal, I continued forward.

"Krieg could be out there any second, and I don't know if my shield can stand up against a Brute. Hell, he might just ignore me and come in through the wall. Now are you going to allow me to save you? Pretty please?" I inquired sardonically, the panic I felt putting a strain on my voice.

The muttering was immediately quelled when my dad rose from his position in the corner.

"I'll go first," he declared, looking me straight in the eye, before turning to the man next to him.

"Pete," he spaid, the other man starting in surprise. "Give me your phone, I'll call once I'm on the other side so you know its ok."

"Uhhh, okay." The other man, Pete, fumbled in his pocket for his phone, unlocking it and handing it over.

"Be safe man."

My dad strode over to me, hesitating just before he reached me. Why was he hesitating? He already knew how my equipment works, so why-

 _Oh, right._

"Place your hand on the disc," I instructed, more for the other's benefit than my dad's. "It's a teleporter, and I've keyed it to another I've set down not far from here. It should get you past the fighting."

I felt stupid talking to my dad like I didn't know him, but I figured I would have to get used to it if I was going to become a cape. The things you had to watch out for of when in costume, so you didn't out yourself by accident. Once he got alongside me, my dad crouched, fingers just shy of the disc, before muttering so low that only the microphones on my suit managed to pick it up.

"Be safe. We'll talk later."

I felt a brief rush of affection suffuse my chest before I quelled it. Now was not the time. I inclined my head just the tiniest amount to show I'd heard, and he took a deep breath and touched the disc, abruptly disappearing startling cries from the dockworkers. What was probably only a few seconds later, but felt like a lifetime, Kurt's phone started ringing. He promptly answered it with a curt "Yes?" before looking around at the others and nodding.

"He's okay, we can go through."

No sooner than he closed his mouth then the wall on the far side of the room collapsed inwards, allowing a man in a gas mask and a brown trench coat to step in through the hole. Krieg.

"Move, move."

I yelled, urging the dockworkers behind me, even as I was flung my hands up to cover the room in balls of lightning. The dockworkers surged past me in a mad rush for the disc, tripping over themselves to get out of the line of fire. Instead of paralysing him in an effort I knew was doomed to failure, I instead aimed for Krieg's limbs, hoping to remove his mobility. But as my Zamors reached him, they _bent_ in strange angles, veering aside from him at the last moment, to cover the floor and walls behind him instead. Oh. Kinetic force manipulator. Right.

Even though my attack was doing nothing, it at least tied up his power in deflecting the attacks, allowing the dockworkers time to escape. And he wasn't attacking me. _Think_ Taylor, _think!_ He can control _movement energy_. How do you get around that? A pit of lava sprung to mind and I blanched at the imagery. Not that I even had one handy right now, and even so that would be decidedly lethal. Unless…

As I heard the last of the dockworkers teleport out, I started moving backwards, putting distance between myself and the Empire cape as he continued his inexorable advance. Using the time my retreat bought me, I cast my eyes around the remnants of the room.

Metal beams, concrete and shattered shards of glass were scattered over the ground; ideal weapons in a fight against someone without a Brute rating. Even bringing the roof down on his head probably wouldn't slow him down at all. If I could freeze or paralyze him, that would be the end of the fight, he couldn't enhance his movement if he was stuck in a block of ice right? Right. But I needed to be able to do that without touching him, so how?

Calling the teleport Kanoka from outside into my hands, I ceased my fire, switching to the Sanok as, rotating the thin slab of protodermis, I threw the disc like a Frisbee. As I expected, the projectile curved away from Krieg much like my ice had. But I wasn't aiming for him. I smirked under my helmet as, unbeknownst to my opponent, the disc continued its flight, soaring out of the hole he'd punched his way through.

"Now, now mein Fraulein, you should stop this," Krieg taunted, his condescending voice cutting through the space between us, the only other sound being the discharge of electricity in the background and the crunching of his boots on the glass.

"You must be sure by now, that there's nothing you can do." He chided, still moving closer.

I clenched my teeth but declined to respond. To speak in battle was a sin. Instead, I switched back to the Calix, stamping on the disc just behind me. Instead of letting the physical contact teleport me, I instead allowed the Calix to flip the disc end over end, launching it upwards off the floor. My arm flashed out, plucking the Kanoka out of thin air, before I once again reached for the Sanok and threw the disc, this time aiming for the cape in front of me.

Krieg just sighed before swiping his hand contemptuously, almost lazily through the air, deflecting the disc like everything else I'd thrown at him, but before the disc was even fully past him, I was already moving. My largest advantage in this fight was that Krieg did not yet know what I was capable of. My Zamors, teleportation and reflexes were all he knew. Barring possibly my speed, he didn't know anything else about me apart from the fact that I was new, and my attacks were ineffectual. I had one shot at this.

I wasn't under any sort of misapprehension that the moment he took me seriously, I would be able to stand up to him for any length of time. In that situation, running would be the best action to take, as I didn't realistically have anything that could hurt him.

Letting the power of the Sanok slip through my fingers, I instead grasped the Pakari, something I hadn't used in the battle up till now. Launching myself across the room, I sent another Zamor toward him, obscuring his vision of me and tying up his power in the second it took to divert my attack. While his vision was obscured, I closed, my Pakari-enhanced muscles eating up the distance.

When his vision cleared, I was nearly on top of Krieg, arm coiled to deliver a blistering right hook. He didn't move, even so much as flinch, trusting in his power to halt my attack, as it had so many times before.

And it was in that moment that he lost.

Unprepared for my enhanced strength, his field wasn't strong enough to halt my fist as it rocketed toward his face, connecting with a crack of broken glass as the eyepieces of his gas mask cracked under the strain. It was the first blow either of us had landed since the fight had begun. Krieg staggered back, totally blindsided by my strike, scattering rubble and glass as he fell backwards. His concentration broken and shock blanketing his mind, he failed to notice the Sanok-enhanced teleportation disc I threw earlier heading straight for his back.

The disc impacted, and Krieg vanished, much the same as my dad and the dockworkers had. Before the disc could clatter to the ground, its purpose fulfilled, I reached out and tapped the edge, letting the disc's power flow over me, and my surroundings changed.

I appeared in mid-air, flaring my levitation panels to stay aloft. Water surrounded me and I could see the docks before me, as well as the falling form of Krieg, flailing just before he hit the water. The first disc I'd thrown wasn't intended to be a weapon, no. I'd needed it to be here, above the water for when I finally managed to strike Krieg. The inspiration I'd gained for defeating Krieg might have been a pit of lava, but dropping him in water and then freezing it over should have the same effect of removing him from the fight, with the added benefit of being non-lethal.

Pointing down, I teleported as many of my freeze Kanoka at once as I could, their forms impacting upon the water just before Krieg broke the surface, surrounded by streamers of water dancing around his form. The streamers whipped upward towards me, but froze long before they made contact. I kept up the pressure, until Krieg was encased in ice, only his head and chest free from the constricting matter.

I let out a sigh of relief, calming my racing heart as adrenaline surged through my system. I took a moment to collect myself before floating down to pluck the teleportation Kanoka off of the newly-formed ice floe, allowing the teleportation to take me. Appearing back at the docks, I bent down, retrieving the other disc that laid amongst the crushed glass, shaking a few shards off the metal as I fished it out of the rubble. I relinquished the discs in my hands, feeling them appear in the rack back in my armoury, and settle into place.

I'd done it! I'd won my first real cape fight!

I mean sure, I'd had that fight with Sophia, but that had been more a spar than anything. Sure it had been serious, but we hadn't exactly been trying to kill each other. No. This was my first fight against an actual enemy and I'd managed to win! On my own no less!

My objective was achieved; Dad was out of the fight and hopefully making distance between himself and the battleground. I couldn't leave just yet though. The fighting could spread if left unchecked for too long, and I couldn't leave as I was the one that had called Sophia into this mess. Not that she'd minded when I asked.

I turned my head to the side as a particularly large explosion sounded outside, rattling the remaining glass in the windows.

 _No rest for the wicked huh?_

Taking a deep breath, I kicked a few loose bricks out of my way as I stepped forward out of the destroyed room into the carnage beyond.


	3. Forging 1-3

**Edit 03.06.17**

 **I just realised that;**

 **1: I was writing this from my old version of the notes so the end of the chapter is cut off now.**

 **2: My A/N's were not making it into the story. Whoops?**

 **Anyway, stuff is fixed now, and hopefully you'll all forgive the comedy of errors.**

The Masks We Wear Chapter 03

Worm/Bionicle

Forging 1.3

The fight certainly had escalated whilst I'd been occupied, I thought hysterically as I strode toward the rapidly devolving mess of limbs and flashing weapons. I could see Velocity blurring around the remaining thugs, appearing behind one, delivering a quick punch to subdue them, before vanishing and reappearing behind another, for the same to happen. Armsmaster and Cricket were dancing around each other, halberd and kamas clashing together in the dying light as they fought for dominance, neither seeming to gain an advantage. There was no sign of Alabaster, although there was a mound of containment foam that could easily be the Empire cape.

Oni Lee was still teleporting around the battlefield like a demented jack-in-the-box, popping up out of nowhere with the setting sun casting disturbing shadows on his mask, before a sharp crack heralded the dissolution of his body, grey ash falling forlornly to the ground.

Right then. That meant Miss Militia was here _somewhere_ then.

"Hey!"

I started at the sound, dropping into a combat stance, Zamor Launcher raised and Calix flashing onto my face for if I needed to dodge. I turned, seeing Clockblocker jogging towards me, hand raised. I relaxed slightly, as the thrill of one of the Wards talking to me fluttered in my gut, before I firmly tamped it down. Not the time for fangirling Taylor.

"Hey, are you a hero? You alright?" Questioned Clockblocker, white armour gleaming as he halted beside me.

"H-Hero. I'm a hero!" I spluttered, raising my hands in the classic 'surrender' position. The last thing I needed was to get mistaken for a villain on my first time out. Also; great first impression there champ.

"And I'm fine." I continued, once I was sure Clockblocker wasn't about to attack me, slowly lowering my arms as I continued towards the fight between Armsmaster and Cricket.

"Where's Krieg?"

"Oh, I froze him out in the Bay."

"You what?" choked Clockblocker, glancing back at the hole Krieg had torn in the wall, before easily moving up beside me to keep pace with my strides.

"I made an iceberg. He's in the centre."

"Say, did you-"

Whatever the Ward was about to say was interrupted as a shriek of tortured metal caused us to snap our heads over to where Aegis was facing off against Stormtiger. Because of course three Empire capes weren't enough. Even as I watched, the metal walkway the Ward was dodging under collapsed under Stormtiger's assault, the Nazi's wind-based attacks slicing through the metal like a hot knife through butter. The falling scaffold plummeted to the eartward, pinning Aegis to the ground. Not allowing him a moment to recover, Stormtiger pressed his advantage; his next attack gorging a deep line down Aegis' bicep, hindering the Ward's attempts to leverage the walkway off of himself.

As the Empire cape took a step forwards, I prepared to move. Clockblocker was already moving, settling into a sprint as he attempted to aid his teammate, but he wouldn't get there in time. I took a deep breath, reaching one more time for the Suva, and the world around me blurred.

Unlike the last time I had used the Kakama, I made sure my path was clear. This time, there were no slabs of stone or discarded tools. This time, I got it right. When the world sharpened back into focus, I was standing right behind Stormtiger. Even as I raised my Zamor Launcher to paralyze him, the winds around us started to whip into a frenzy, and he was already turning. It made sense, he didn't get where he was today by being sloppy, after all. His instincts served him well. But not well enough. Even as the winds buffeted against my armour, I struck out, my shot striking the cape's left arm, paralysing him up to the shoulder.

"Tsch."

I sucked air in through my teeth in annoyance as the wind diverted my Zamor _just_ enough to avoid paralyzing him completely. I skipped backwards as Stormtiger turned to me, wind blasts impacting upon my shield as the Hau protected me. He continued toward me, futile attempts to move his arm sending wind howling around him in a visible maelstrom.

And then he flinched.

It wasn't difficult to see why; a crossbow bolt was protruding from his calf, blood only just starting to drip from the tip. He stopped for a second, the hurricane pausing for a brief second as he staggered.

And then Shadow Stalker was there.

Ah. I was wondering how she'd been able to land her shot. With the wind circling around him, Stormtiger should have been able to swat aside any projectile way before it reached him. However, Shadow Stalker's bolts were able to retain their shadow state for a few seconds after she had fired them. It was this that had allowed them to move through the gale-force winds to reach her target. The precision and timing that required were impressive to say the least; proof of her experience as a solo vigilante.

My friend slipped through Stormtiger in her Breaker state, reverting as she spun to bury her fist into the cape's stomach; bending him double around her strike. Phasing as she flipped backwards to avoid his retaliatory strike, I used her distraction to dart in using my Kakama, tucking into a roll to remain outside his field of vision as he remained focused on the airborne Shadow Stalker.

I rolled into his personal space, coming up in a handstand facing away from him as my heel hammered into his chin with a crack as I straightened. My blow sent Stormtiger flying back a few feet, the cape rolling head over heels until he found his feet in a crouch.

Remembering our training, I charged. My Kakama was replaced by the Pakari as I spun, catching the diving Shadow Stalker by the arms as she leaped for my back. Completing my rotation, I threw my friend feet first into our opponent before he had time to react, sending him to the floor once more.

As Shadow Stalker dove to the side, I sent a Sanok-enhanced Zamor at Stormtiger's free arm, paralyzing his free limb. I was setting myself up for another shot as my vision was interrupted by a flash of white. Flinching backwards, I rose my arms in a defensive posture, ready to fend off this newest assailant.

"Uhh, you okay there silver?"

I blinked.

Clockblocker crouched over an unmoving Stormtiger, one hand stretched out to touch the Empire cape, the other fishing in what I presumed was a utility belt, drawing out a small spray can which he proceeded to use, covering Stormtiger in containment foam.

Huh, neat.

"Silver?"

I relaxed my posture, casting my gaze over the battlefield. Oni Lee was nowhere to be seen, and the same could be said for the vast majority of the ABB. They must have retreated shortly after I'd engaged Stormtiger. The E88 however hadn't fared so well. Between the unconscious forms wearing their colours and the twitching pile in the middle of the yard containing several struggling thugs, I'd kinda routed them.

Hehe, oops.

"Uhh, hello? Silver?"

I spotted Armsmater and Velocity cuffing an insensate Cricket, the woman convulsing every few seconds as what I presumed to be electricity coursed through her body. I assumed Armsmaster had tasered her? Who knew what he had in that Halberd of his, if I could just get to have five minutes alone with it, to learn its secrets-

"O great bringer of lightning and bane of goosesteppers!"

I was pulled from my fantasies when a shout came from behind me. I yelped softly, spinning in place as I turned to the disturbance behind me. Clockblocker was waving his arms to get my attention, slightly bent forward at the waist as he gestured. Aegis had managed to extract himself from the walkway, and was making his way over to us, holding his arm awkwardly as he moved. Nearer to me, Shadow Stalker's shoulders shook softly as she obviously tried not to laugh.

Gee, thanks for the support Sophia.

"Uhh, yes?" I squeaked, before flushing with embarrassment and continuing in a more normal tone.

"I mean Yes. Were you talking to me?"

"I was, O gleaming one." Clockblocker pantomimed a nobleman's bow, his hand making a circular motion before he bent double at the waist. "I wish to than your most esteemed self for your assistance this day, for deeming to aid those beneath your notice."

"Uhh, I'm sorry for ignoring you." I began, scratching my neck in embarrassment as I turned slightly to the side. "I didn't realise you were talking to me."

"Clock, stop embarrassing the new cape." Sighed Aegis, reaching up with his uninjured arm to pinch the bridge of his nose as he drew level with us. "Silver was it?" He turned to me, "Despite this joker's way with words, your help is appreciated, thanks for the save."

His voice was smooth and comforting, like tea and honey on a cold winter's day. At his comforting words, I regained some of my confidence before pausing in confusion once more.

"My name isn't Silver."

At my words both boys froze, before Clockblocker threw himself to the ground;

"Oh the shame, I neglected to ask the fair lady's name! Oh, how will you ever forgive such a wretched one as myself?"

Another sigh came from Aegis as his hand made the return trip to his nose, massaging the space between his eyes as he broke in with a long-suffering sigh.

"Stop it Clock. So, as Clock here has forgotten social niceties, I guess I'll ask. My name's Aegis, what's yours?"

I froze for a good two seconds as Shadow Stalker's shoulders shook even heavier. I hadn't come up with a name! All this time, and I hadn't come up with a name! I had named everything in my base, had names for all my masks and equipment, but I hadn't even bothered to name myself! Stupid Taylor!

I groaned, feeling my ears heat up as I meekly responded.

"I-I, uh, don't have one yet?"

The silence was deafening.

"Well then, we just have to settle on one!"

The outburst predictably came from Clockblocker, springing up from his position on the floor as he launched into a stream of suggestions.

"We could have Silver, though Silver's a bit boring come to think of it. Ohh, you could be Iceblast! You did say you froze Krieg in the bay right?"

"The Dockworkers!" I blurted.

The mention of Krieg had reminded me of my dad and the dockworkers, and I started to panic again. Had he run into the retreating gangsters? I didn't hear any fighting, but I _was_ kind of preoccupied at the time.

I turned desperately toward Shadow Stalker, hoping she would understand.

She stared at me, uncomprehending for a few moments, before sighing and turning slightly away from me, toward the ruined building I'd found Dad in.

"Whatever, go see your teleporter. The Hal-Beard won't like it, but what does he matter?"

"Thanks!" I shot back, grasping the power of the Kadin as I took to the sky, ignoring Aegis' call to wait as I soared off, hoping with all my heart my dad was okay.

I paced the floor of my living room, treading back and forth along the carpet as I bit at my thumb in worry.

I'd managed to spot Dad at the PRT cordon along with the other dockworkers, presumably giving a statement. I'd nearly dropped out of the sky in relief when I'd seen him safe and sound. I'd been so relieved I'd made my way back to my base in a daze, only remembering after that I'd left Sophia at the docks. On her own.

Whoops.

After a somewhat awkward phone call, I teleported home and set about waiting for Dad. I now know what he feels like every time I go out Tinkering, how he felt seeing me today. Like I couldn't think about anything else, how the worry eclipsed all other considerations, drowning them until only it remained. I was able to ignore it during the fight, although looking back, it was still present. I just pushed it aside to deal with later.

Maybe I shouldn't be so cavalier about going out at night in the future, shouldn't brush off my dad's worries so quickly. I guess it's true, the saying about walking a mile in another's shoes. Although, come to think about it there's quite a lot of sayings that describe my life recently.

 _Sigh._

I was thrown out of my musings by the sound of a key in the lock. I turned sharply on my heel, almost overbalancing myself, and stared out of the window as I windmilled my arms in order to stay upright. My dad's car was parked outside, and I could just about see his shadow, lengthened by the light above the front door, stretching over the fence. I must have been so preoccupied by my own thoughts that I missed him pulling in.

"Dad!"

I ran to the door, almost tripping in my haste. I barrelled into my dad just as he shut the door, wrapping my arms around him as tears started to blur my vision.

"I'm so glad you're safe!"

"It's okay kiddo. Thanks for coming to get me."

His voice washed over me, calming my nerves even as I pulled him to myself, his presence reassuring me of his wellbeing, soothing the roiling pit of worry my stomach had turned into. As I finally managed to blink the tears from my eyes, I noticed the tone of his voice. The undercurrent of anger I'd half expected wasn't present.

"You're not mad?" I mumbled in incredulity, face still pressed into his shoulder.

He sighed, before pushing me away from him, holding me at arm's length so he could look me in the eye.

"Taylor, I'm not upset. I would do the same for you in a heartbeat, you know that. I'd be a hypocrite if I got angry over something we both knew I'd do if I was in your position. I knew even before you came in through that window that you would come." He shrugged, "It was only a question of how long it would take until you got there."

An impish grin stretched across his face as he continued;

"You might want to work on your entrance though."

I snorted, then stopped suppressing my laughter and giggled, pushing my hair out of my face as I did so. This wouldn't have happened even five months ago. Just with a single exchange we had discussed and accepted a situation that would have ended in a cold silence before the events at camp. It was proof of how much we spoke now, of how our relationship had improved.

"How about some tea?"

I nodded, helping Dad pull out the mugs from the overhead cupboards, boiling the kettle and dropping two teabags into the boiling water, until the water turned dark and the smell of the drink wafted round the kitchen. Handing Dad one of the drinks, we moved to the sofa, sitting next to each other as we cradled our tea, the steam from the liquid curling up into our faces.

"So I heard you captured a pair of Empire capes?"

Dad was the first to break the silence, pride evident in his voice even as he spoke quietly. Knowing he wasn't angry with me, I immediately launched into a recount of the fight;

"Well not Stormtiger, at least; not on my own. I had help for him, but Krieg I did alone. It wasn't hard really. I just feinted a couple times until he thought I couldn't do anything to him. When he let his guard down, I teleported him into the bay and froze him."

"Uhh, Stormtiger was a bit harder, he took me seriously see. I had Sophia help me with him though. She kicked him in the face until I could paralyze him. Neither of them were really much of a challenge."

"Not much of a challenge." My dad chuckled, shaking his head incredulously.

"Well, at least they didn't hurt you." He pinned me with a sharp gaze, "But don't get complacent. You may have beaten them now, but when they get free, they'll come after you twice as hard. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I know Dad." I reassured, "I wasn't being cocky. The only reason today happened as it did was that Krieg didn't take me seriously, and Stormtiger was too off balance to do anything. I know they all have far more experience than me."

"But I'm a Tinker. By the time they're out I'll have more equipment, better equipment! I'll have practice with it and I'll be more experienced. Don't worry."

"I'll be more than prepared."

Sophia didn't let me forget the naming debacle for weeks.

I hadn't gone out since then. My experiences against capes in an actual fight drove home the difference between the sparring matches I'd been having with Sophia and actual combat. If I slipped up once, made a single mistake, it would quite likely be my life on the line, or worse. That thought had me training twice as hard, and twice as long as I had previously. Add that to the fact that some of my capabilities were now known, well; the element of surprise only works once.

For a Tinker, their tech was their power. And I had been adhering to that strenuously. For every object, every trinket I created, I would be just that little bit more powerful, more prepared. I'd also developed strategies for every known cape, villain or otherwise, that I would potentially cross paths with.

I was taking no chances.

In search of ever more powerful abilities to add to my arsenal, I had been pushing my power harder than I ever had before. My new additions to the Suva sat in the back of my head, waiting for the call. The Kanohi Miru; Mask of Levitation, Kanohi Avsa; Mask of Hunger and the Kanohi Volitak; Mask of Stealth.

I was slightly disappointed by the number of masks I'd made. Every time I pushed myself too hard, my power seemed to blank, destroying my train of thought for a time. Making masks of the level I had been did not incur this penalty however. It was almost like a safety brake, preventing me from pushing myself too hard. Kind of like the thinker headaches that had been described on PHO, except my power just shut itself off.

 _Great._

I'd slowly been breaking past the barrier though; the mask I was currently hammering away at was one of those that would have blue-screened me just a week earlier. The vaguely draconic mask seemed to emanate the concept of 'change'. Although what that signified I wasn't sure. From the way my other masks had affected myself, maybe I could change states? Maybe become a gas, or a liquid. Like I didn't have enough infiltration abilities already.

Sweat started to bead on my brow as I felt the infusion start to slow, signifying the end of the forging process. Unlike the others however, it was almost as if the mask was resisting my efforts to complete it.

Straining, I fed even more of my power into the construct, hoping to overwhelm whatever block the mask had erected to seal itself from my power. A small amount poured in. Measurable, but not relative to the amount I'd attempted to put in. A small sliver of panic flared in my gut before I ruthlessly quashed it. NO! No. I would not give in here. I had spent too much time getting to this point to let myself fail now. If I was beaten by my own power, I'd never live it down.

Gritting my teeth, I forced all my available power into the Kanohi on the anvil before me, feeling the mask rail against the onslaught. I lost all sense of time as I stood panting over my work; the mental tug of war roaring in my mind. I blinked, darkness beginning to encroach on my vision, as I realised I was out of time. Whilst I may be able to outlast the Kanohi, my power would shut me down long before that.

With my vision almost filled with darkness, I gave one last effort, feeding my power into the stubborn mask, feeling the 'click' as the energy was _finally_ accepted.

I smiled tiredly, feeling the sweat drip from my forehead as the darkness enclosed my vision. I felt the rush of wind around me as my vision went black, and I knew no more.

"Taylor!"

"Come on Taylor!"

I was awoken by the sound of someone shouting my name. Blinking my eyes at the bright lights of my workshop, I turned to view the one shouting my name.

"Ah, Ssoophiiia." I slurred, before hacking a cough and clearing my throat.

"Dammit Taylor, what did you do this time?"

"W-what are you doing here?"

"You called me remember? You said you had something to show me?"

Huh. I did didn't I?

"Well let's take a look then." I hauled myself off the floor, using my workbench to leverage my weight upward. "It should fit, I based it off your old-"

"Wait, wait." I turned back to Sophia, "You're not gonna comment on the fact I found you on the floor unconscious?"

"Aww, Sophia, I didn't know you cared!" My joking tone belied the warmth in my chest. Although I knew Sophia and I were something that could only charitably be called friends, it was the first time she had actually expressed concern over me.

"No!" The rebuttal was a bit _too_ vehement. "Something like that couldn't have hurt you!"

I refrained from commenting on the fact that she didn't know what I'd done. But on that note…

Turning back to the bench, I took my new mask in my hands, the draconic visage thrumming of 'mutation'. Huh. _Not_ something the PRT would be thrilled at knowing then. Why do I feel like I'm going to run into more of these?

I moved through the corridors of my base, Sophia striding behind me, until I reached my armoury. Moving over to the corner I stepped aside to let Sophia see the armour I'd spent the last month or so building. I watched her eyes light up as I moved aside. Eyes wide, she turned to me, her expression heavy with a question. I gestured to the armour and she immediately started divesting herself of her jeans and blouse, revealing her gym clothes underneath.

"You made me armour?" She enquired breathlessly. "Why?"

I shuffled my feet for a moment, nervously. She probably wouldn't accept the real reason; that I was worried she would eventually see me as weak, something she didn't tolerate. If I could do all I could to mitigate the fallout, to endear her to me, then it may not be so bad. I may keep my friend this time.

"W-well, if you're going to be patrolling with me, I really wouldn't be a good teammate to leave you running around in leather when I can give you armour right?"

"So what do I get with this thing?"

I sighed.

"Standard armour package; teleportation, levitation, speed and regeneration. Your Kanohi is the Sanok; accuracy. I thought it would be the most apparent considering your main method of attack is projectile based. On that note, in place of your crossbows I've given you a pair of disc launchers. They're linked to the armoury here and you can choose your shot through your HUD."

I helped her attach the helmet, checking that the expanded space in the back of the helmet had contained her hair.

"The armour's not as durable as mine; I made it lighter as you're more knife in the dark than white knight material. The regen factor should protect you from anything that doesn't pierce the plate right out, but it's not the be all and end all. Your greatest defence will still be your mobility. I'd hate to see you get hurt because you thought you were invincible."

And it was true. Whilst she had been the source of the worst month of my life outside of my mother's death, after we'd settled the majority of our differences, she'd stayed by my side after seeing parts of me I was ashamed of. I wasn't blind though. She was just as broken as I was; falling back on an archaic mindset of weak vs strong, something that was untenable in today's society. We were two broken people holding each other up; Sophia bolstering my self-confidence, and myself validating her worldview. It was funny really.

"Thanks."

I was jolted out of my thoughts by the small voice of the girl in front of me. I smiled softly, giving no other sign I had heard. For Sophia, someone who only relied upon themselves, the thought of someone else helping them for the simple fact of helping, or even needing the help in the first place must have been difficult to accept for the proud girl.

"Okay, arms up." I gestured, making a T-shape with my arms, running her through a series of stretches to check the armour fit right, that she still had her full range of motion. Judging the measurements adequate, I moved on to the power testing.

"Reach out, the power should surround you like a blanket, a cocoon of warm air."

"Poetry Hebert? You seriously expect me to think of this as a _blanket?_ "

"Is this your Tinkertech or mine?"

Silence.

"I thought so. Reach out."

. . .

"I'm not feeling anything."

I sighed, reaching out for the panels on Sophia's armour.

"Woah! It's working!" I looked up at the slowly ascending figure as I continued to feed power

"No, that was me. Do you feel that?"

"No. Well, I'm floating."

"Can you not feel the power flowing through you?"

"Enough with the hippie shit. Let me down already!"

I chuckled, letting her touch the ground, stepping back and concentrating once more.

I stretched out with my power, touching the energies that swirled round Sophia's form. The field writhed under my touch, responding to my presence as I searched for the problem. The field suffused her entire body, flowing through her as much as around her, more like a mist than the blanket I earlier described it as.

Not finding any issues or rejection symptoms with the energies I'd granted the armour, I started feeling along the connection between them. Whereas the link between myself and the armour was strong, like the trunk of an oak, Sophia's was non-existent.

"I see the issue." I elaborated;

"The link that enables me to use my tech is part of my power. We knew this already. What I failed to consider was that it would only work for me, despite the fact that it seems to have bonded with you perfectly fine."

"Bonded!? What?"

"Don't panic." I rolled my eyes, "It's just like an extra power, and it's benevolent, it is my power after all."

After a few seconds of silence, Sophia responded with a huff, before continuing.

"Fine. But there's no point in it if I can't use the thing. How do you connect to it again?"

I don't really." I shrugged, "It's just there."

I received what I assumed to be a deadpan stare in response. It's difficult to judge facial expressions with a full-face helmet.

"I know, I know, just give me a minute."

I was able to use my power with impunity, given that it was mine, and the effects of my power were able to be used by others. The teleportation Kanoka were proof of this, and there was this feeling, this hunch that what I made wasn't meant to be for my use alone.

So if I was correct, I should be able to teach others to use my equipment too. Maybe probing the link would work? Suddenly, an image burst into my mind's eye, of two fists, together in solidarity, thrumming of friendship and loyalty, of a bond that transcended death itself. Maybe…But if she rejected it then would there be a backlash? I couldn't risk it.

"Sophia." I looked her in the eye, facing her straight on to ensure I was clear in my sincerity. "I have an idea as to how I can fix this, but I need to know. Despite the fact we've had our differences, that we don't _always_ see eye to eye. I think we're at least friends, but…"

"Do you trust me?"

She continued to stare at me for a minute, the gaze of the Sanok unflinching in its intensity.

She sighed, shoulders slumping before she straightened, mask tilted toward me.

"I do Taylor. You're strong, you care about me, for me, and how I feel. Something that hasn't happened in a long time. So yes, I do trust you."

I smiled, pushing my arm out, clenching my hand into a fist like the image in my mind.

"Then let's get to it."

Hesitantly, Sophia's black-clad gauntlet reached out to bump against mine, knuckle against knuckle. I let the power build up inside me, letting it flow through to our fists, suffuse our bodies. When the energy had saturated our bodies, I checked the connection between us, and _pushed._

 **UNITY**

"I told you it would work!"

I laughed up at the armour-clad form of Sophia bouncing off the ceiling, scrabbling at the lights in order to stay upright. One of the first things I'd done when I completed the levitation panels was learn how to move in zero-G. Now I could operate upside-down as well as I could normally. Still didn't stop the blood from rushing to my head though.

Satisfaction and pride rushed through me as Sophia slowly floated back down to the floor, cursing all the way. My hunch had been right. I _was_ able to teach others how to use my equipment, as opposed to the insta-use tech I'd been giving to my dad to keep him safe. It also meant that I wouldn't lose my first new friend in years to a stray bullet, or piece of falling masonry. This way, even if I wasn't by her side, I would still be protecting her. A warmth suffused my chest at the thought. I was finally able to do something right, something that mattered.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up." Grumbled Sophia, picking herself up off the floor.

"Well at least we know it works." I chuckled, "Right. That's Levitation. The Regeneration seems to be working as intended." I eyed Sophia's armour, the scratches and scuffs from her impromptu trip across the ceiling disappearing as I watched, replaced by the black and grey they once were.

"Okay, so speed and teleportation are left. Try the speed first, you'll be more used to enhanced speed after all." I continued, referring to her speed in her Breaker form.

"Right." She nodded, the embarrassment still coating her voice. "From the far wall?"

I nodded, walking back a few paces to give Sophia some space, letting her reach the opposite wall before cupping my hands round my mouth and counting down;

"Focus on moving faster; like you did for the levitation. On three; One. Two. _Three!_ "

Sophia shot across the intervening space, arms and legs pumping, eating up the distance between us. It took a little over two seconds to cross the distance; a little faster than I would have managed not using my Kakama. That was expected. Between her lighter armour and her time spent as a vigilante, she was fitter than me, and therefore faster.

Sophia reached the wall behind me and skidded to a stop, sending up sparks as she turned to face me. She straightened, turning toward me, and I could read the exhilaration in every line of her body as she started toward me.

"That was _amazing!_ " she gushed, before seeming to catch herself and clearing her throat before she continued; "There's no-one who can run from me now! You have this all the time?"

"Ever since I finished the first spec of my armour." I responded, grinning at her enthusiasm.

"Ready to test the teleportation?" I asked, pleased that my efforts were being appreciated. How long had it been since someone outside of Dad or Emma had complimented me?

"Yeah. How do we do that?"

"W-Well, it's not teleportation as you would know it." I elaborated, "It's more point to point, like a fast-response/retreat system rather than for use in the field. It takes too long for anyone but me to make the connections necessary to make the jump. Otherwise it gets dangerous, and I don't want you to be hurt."

I was concerned. This was the first part of this that Sophia may not be happy with. Everything else had worked out as planned, but the teleportation was just too dangerous to have on-the-fly adjustments to have the others use in battle. When someone says 'Teleporter', you think of someone appearing and disappearing round a battlefield, like Oni Lee. I wasn't able to do that, only link existing teleportation discs or set co-ordinates.

I stood there, panicking inside as Sophia thought over my fumbling apologies, hoping she wouldn't be disappointed.

"Eh, it's annoying but I'll deal. What's the hunt without challenge eh? I guess it would either put me in space or in several hundred places at once yeah?"

I nodded, relief at Sophia's acceptance robbing me of words. I took a few breaths to calm myself before I explained;

"There should be an icon in the top-right of your vision. Focus on that, and it should give you a list of viable locations."

A second passed before the response came;

"The one called Base right?"

"Yup. Select it, and focus on being there. You should have a moment of disorientation the first time. That's perfectly normal and should-"

I was cut off as she suddenly disappeared, leaving nothing but empty air before me. The difference was jarring, and I blinked several times before I managed to process what my eyes were telling me. I sighed, massaging my temples as I made my way toward the oversized disc further into my base that served as the teleportation pad.

I could tell the test had been a success as I heard the noises of someone retching as I entered the room. Sophia was crouched on the floor, coughing violently as she shuddered. I sympathised. My first experience of teleportation wasn't nice either. To me it felt like I was suddenly falling, like there was no gravity, no earth beneath my feet, then the world snaps back into focus with jarring suddenness. It took time to become accustomed to it.

I crouched down next to Sophia, rubbing her back as she cussed me out, promising vengeance upon me for this, my thoughts turned to my other friend, and what had happened to her, how she had been affected by my powers. Of how now, in her efforts to stay by my side, she was scaring me worse than she ever had before.

I looked up from my desk as the doorbell rang. Hearing Dad move to open the door, I checked the time; 2:28pm. Early afternoon. We weren't expecting anyone today, so the visitor was a bit of a surprise. It was a mild day, warm for the winter we were having. The sun shone weakly on my assorted pieces of paper, homework and Kanohi designs covering the wooden surface in equal measure.

Turning my ear downstairs as Dad opened the door, I heard a few snatches of conversation before the door was shut again, roughly. I sighed. That could only be one person. I leveraged myself out of my chair, careful to not dislodge any of my papers as I made my way out of my room. I made it to the landing just as my dad finished ascending the stairs. We looked at each other for a moment before sighing in tandem.

"Emma?" I asked.

"Emma." He confirmed.

I sighed, massaging my temples as I held my head in my hands.

"What does she want?"

"To speak to you."

I palmed my face, feeling the weight of the past few months settling down on me. Emma had been … warped after her ordeal, falling upon Sophia's views to support herself in the wake of her attack. After the therapy had started to take hold, she had become contradictory. One second being fine, the next staring off into space without warning, things she said she would refute hours, even minutes later, like she was fighting herself inside her own head.

She never looked straight at anyone anymore, rather she looked through you, with eyes that never seemed quite focused. It was creepy to be honest. But it wasn't that that worried me the most. No. it was her behaviour toward me specifically that concerned me.

Sophia's views on me were simple. I was the apex of her 'survivor' mindset, and as such she treated me much the same a pack of wolves would treat their Alpha. Her, I could deal with. Emma on the other hand?

Emma had taken to devoting herself to me when she was in her better moments. She never disagreed with anything I said, supporting me most strenuously in anything I said or did. It was as though she wanted, no _needed_ to repay me, absolve herself of her sins by becoming my personal servant. It went beyond devotion sometimes. Some of the things she'd been willing to do…

They scared me.

I shook my head and tried to force those thoughts out of my head.

"Fine. Fine. Let's see what she wants."

"Are you sure?" My dad asked, gripping me by the arm worriedly, "You don't have to go down there."

"I know." I sighed. "But she's at least trying. I should give her that much at least."

I turned away from Dad, making my way down the stairs, opening the door to see Emma standing nervously in the yard. Her once glossy hair was wild, uncombed and hanging limp from her scalp. Her normally pristine clothes were slightly ruffled, as though she'd haphazardly thrown on whatever she pulled out the wardrobe first, without consideration for what she was actually wearing. Where once she stood straight and proud, she now hunched slightly, her hands fisting the material of her blouse in front of her as though to protect herself from the world.

But it was her eyes that disturbed me the most. While they weren't filled with the vacantness that all too often stared back at me, they were instead were filled with a panicked desperation. I also didn't miss the way they snapped to me as I opened the door, never deviating from my face. In the same moment, she had hunched that little bit more, as though she were prostrating herself in front of me.

I sighed. Again.

"Yes Emma? How are you?"

I'd learnt early on that Emma was never one to initiate conversation, as though she were not worthy of speaking to me. I had to talk to her first, and she would only respond with short, stuttering sentences that didn't amount to more than platitudes in most cases.

It was depressing how much my social circle reminded me of a wolf pack at times. With me as the Alpha, with Sophia and Emma looking to me for differing reasons.

"A-ah, f-fine thank you Taylor." Emma stuttered, turning her gaze aside for the first time since she had set eyes on me, focusing on a point halfway between my eyes and my navel.

I waited for a handful of moments, before realising that Emma wasn't going to continue. I suppressed yet another sigh as I tried to move the conversation forward.

"Did you want something Emma? Or did you just want to talk to me?"

I flinched at my tone. Despite my best efforts, some of my annoyance bled through into my words. Despite this, Emma still plucked up the courage to respond, something I was mildly surprised at. I'd expected her to flinch back at my comment and clam up. It seems she was doing better than I had expected.

"W-well, I was w-wondering if you would like to go to the Boardwalk, to town. With ah, me?"

My eyes widened slightly. This wasn't something I was used to. Emma would normally never have suggested something like this. As far as I knew, she hadn't been to anywhere since school and her therapist since her parents had confronted her. If this was something she had thought up on her own, or even if it was something her father had been able to convince her of, this was a good thing. It showed she was improving. I couldn't find it within me to derail her improvement over something as petty as a grudge that was obviously affecting her more than me.

"Sure." I agreed, despite my apprehension. "Let me get my coat."


	4. Forging 1-4

**A/N: Well hello everyone I hope you are enjoying this thus far, and as it happens I have an apology to give.**

 **I just realised recently that the A/N's were not making it into the chapters for whatever reason, so sorry about that.**

 **The second, and biggest niggle is that I wrote the tail end of 1-3 using the wrong notes. whoops. That has since been changed and cut off to the point you see here. All the new info is in this chapter, but if you want to skip back and check for yourself that's fine too.**

 **Apologies again, and I'll endeavour not to make the same mistake in the future.**

 **Anyway, on with the show!**

The Masks We Wear Chapter 04

Worm/Bionicle

Forging 1.4

The pair of us strolled along the Boardwalk, eating ice-cream that Emma had reluctantly acquiesced to me paying for. We hadn't spoken much since my house, and what conversation there had been was more stilted than the brief words exchanged when she asked me here. The people walked around us, unaware of the thoughts whirling through my head, unencumbered with the issues that pervaded my everyday life.

Yes, I may have more issues now compared to before I gained my powers. But I was more confident now, better equipped to deal with my problems. I had someone who was willing to back me up in my times of need, and I had bridged the gulf that had opened between my dad and myself. I'd even helped Emma, albeit unintentionally. I felt like there was colour in my life again, rather than the oppressive greyscale that had descended upon my mind after my mother's death. I was better.

"I suppose I owe you an explanation."

The comment was so out of the blue it made me jump, although I managed to arrest the movement before it properly started. Flustered, I turned to Emma, who was walking with her eyes still trained on the floor, as they had been for the past half an hour.

"You've already explained." I assured her tiredly. "I know what happened that night. You don't have to relive it for my sake. I won't ask that of you."

The girl next to me flinched, hunching over even more as she visibly gathered herself, shaking off the ghosts of her past.

"No, I-I don't mean that. I want to talk about the way I've been … distant."

I perked up upon hearing this. I had wondered, after all.

"If you'd feel comfortable." I ventured cautiously. "I don't want you to have to force yourself."

"You deserve to know."

With that declaration, one more emphatic than anything I'd heard from her for months, I blinked and let the silence continue. It was several minutes before she was able to speak again, minutes we spent walking along the edge of the Bay.

"When I latched onto Sophia's … mindset, I tried to reinvent myself." She started, not even looking at me as she spoke. I figured that admitting this was hard enough for her, so I just let her gather her blouse in her hands, leaving her to continue without interruptions.

"I wanted to be stronger, anything but … but … w-weak. And so anything that reminded me of … before, that reminded me of the me that was almost … that was attacked, had to go. And that included you. _Especially_ you."

"But you already know this. But I've wronged you. I know that now. And I cannot say how sorry I am Taylor! I spat on something that we'd cherished for years, I even turned your mother against you. What kind of friend does that? I don't deserve your forgiveness, yet you give it to me anyway. Sophia's right, when she talks about you. You're strong. You wouldn't even want to see my face if you weren't."

"I already tried to shut you out of my life once. I won't be stupid enough to do that again. I've spent the past few months trying to decide what I should do; push you away, or hold you close? But I've made my decision. So, I ask you, would you let me stay by your side, to make up for all the pain I've caused you, until you deem my debts repaid?"

I just stood there, dumbfounded by the question she'd asked.

 _Was that a marriage proposal?!_

No, wait. Calm down Taylor. Thinking about it, it seemed more like an offer of servitude than anything. Something that I was loathe to accept. But if I refused, Emma would take that as a sign that I was unwilling to forgive her, something that would probably shatter her hold on whatever kept her sane. It wasn't something I _could_ refuse. But what was that she'd said about choices?

A harsh grinding sound tore me from my thoughts, and for the first time since Emma had stopped talking, I took stock of our surroundings. We'd travelled further than I thought. We were currently standing near the northern ferry station. Crates and cranes stood off to my left, whereas a pile of nets draped over the seawall on my left.

The sound had come from behind me, slightly to my left. I turned to the crates and looked up. One of the steel boxes was perched awkwardly on the top of the pile, and I could see even from my position on my ground that it was unbalanced. The grinding sound was due to the metal of the crate moving against the box beneath it as it threatened to fall.

And sure enough, even as I looked, the crate fell, bringing the entire stack down.

"LOOK OUT!"

Even as I was shouting a warning, I grabbed hold of Emma and flung myself backwards. I hit the ground roughly, Emma wrenched from my grasp as I tumbled along the ground, putting distance between myself and the falling crates. I heard the cacophony of the crates hitting the ground and Emma's shriek at the noise. I froze, hoping against hope that I would be spared as the sound abated. I lay still for a moment more, coughing the dust out of my lungs as I took in my surroundings.

Both Emma and I had been spared by the crates, the fallen containers creating a barrier of sorts between us and the rest of the station. Shouting emanated from beyond the barricade, panicked yells of the dockworkers filtering through the ringing in my ears.

I tried to rise, only for my legs to encounter resistance. I looked down, confronted with the sight of the netting I'd spotted earlier constricting my limbs, rendering me unable to move. I let out a sigh of relief, my brief fear that my spine had been crushed evaporating as I tried to work out a solution to my problem. My relief was chased away by a chill that spread up my spine as I took another look at my predicament.

There must have been something heavy attached to the other end of the netting I was entangled in, for the length of material was unravelling, the end not attached to me disappearing over the side of the sea wall and into the water of the bay.

 _Well shit._

"Emma." I called, forcing myself to keep my tone level. "Emma, I need your help."

The shivering girl slowly turned to me, her arms not moving from around her legs, keeping them firmly clutched against her chest. My breath caught as my eyes met hers, that dead-eyed stare looking straight through me.

"Emma, I need you to find something to help me cut this net."

I spoke slowly, not letting my inner panic show on my face. The last thing I needed was for Emma to start to have a panic attack. I could let shock set in after I was safe. Right now, I needed to get untangled. I could deal with everything else later.

"Why?"

My God, she really was out of it wasn't she?

"Something is pulling the net I'm tangled in into the water. I can't free myself, I need your help. I might drown otherwise."

She shakily looked from me to the net, and back again. I grit my teeth as she repeated the motion, before doing it again and starting muttering to herself, still not having moved an inch. Giving up on accepting help from Emma, I decided to bite the bullet and use my powers to escape. Dad had always said that if I was ever in a situation that forced me to choose between my identity and my life, I should always choose my life.

I reached out with my senses for the teleportation Kanoka hidden in my watch. I cursed as I came up blank. The disc must have cracked in my desperate tumble away from the crates, and I wasn't wearing my belt with the disc hidden in the buckle either. I thought a walk along the boardwalk would be safe enough.

Shows what I know. I really should be more careful, redundancies were a thing after all.

I was jolted out of my self-recrimination by a sharp tug in my ankle. I gasped, ice filling my spine as I was slowly pulled toward the water. I didn't dare look back, in some futile attempt to refute the reality of my situation by not acknowledging it. I scrabbled at the concrete as I was dragged to my death, eyes flicking furiously about as I tried to find something, _anything_ that could save me.

And then came the moment my feet hit open air.

I froze for the briefest instant in sheer unbridled terror before I cut through my fear with sheer force of will and redoubled my efforts. Nothing I did made the slightest difference, there wasn't anything substantial enough for me to grab onto to halt my movement. My hips were dragged over the edge, and with nothing supporting them, the rest of my body started to tilt as gravity started to exert its effects upon my body.

This meant that my slightly elevated state was in a perfect position to see Emma careen into the floor before me, grabbing my outstretched arm with both hands just as I tipped over the side.

Letting out a small yelp of pain as she landed, I grit my teeth as my arm threatened to be wrenched from its socket, screaming protests as my feet splashed in the water. I looked up, Emma's once empty eyes bright with terror, although there was something underneath, a steel I hadn't seen before.

I gasped the ledge, attempting to pull myself up onto dry land once more, but the weight pulling me down was too much. With resignation, I watched my arm slide slowly through Emma's grip, each inch just that bit closer to my demise. I felt a calm settle over me as I looked up into the terrified eyes of the girl who had once been my friend, and opened my mouth to speak.

"NO!"

I blinked, cut off by the exclamation from above me and focused on Emma as she continued.

"I won't let go! I swore I wouldn't and I broke my promise! I'm sorry please, please, you can't leave me! I'm not letting go!"

I sighed despite myself. If she didn't let go, the only thing she would achieve was getting pulled into the water with me. She didn't have the strength to pull me back up, and she was slowly losing her grip. There was no point both of us dying here. There was no other way.

"Emma-"

"NO!" She shook her head frantically, hair and tears flying, "I won't let you!"

"I'm not giving you a choice." I smiled sadly. "Tell Dad I love him."

As Emma stared at me, horrified, I used my free hand to pry off one of Emma's hands, leaving me suspended by one arm. I sent a straight-fingered jab into Emma's wrist, numbing her remaining hand and leaving me free to slip from her grasp. I gasped as I dropped the couple of feet into the bay, the water closing over my head as I was yanked down by my ankles.

Ironically, the netting was long enough that I could raise my arms, and have them break the surface. I laughed bitterly, bubbles erupting out of my mouth, rising to the surface barely over a foot above my face. Just my luck. I closed my eyes as I felt the darkness encroach over my vision, my lungs burning at the lack of oxygen.

I thought of how far I'd come, of what I'd managed to build in the past few months, both literal and figurative. I'd rebuilt my relationship with Dad, and made sure Sophia would be protected when she went out at night. I'd felt more human in the past few months than I had since my Mom died, and for that I was grateful, even if it had to end now.

 _I'm coming mom._

Just as I felt the last of my air leave my lungs, the water around me started to churn as though a storm had spontaneously decided to spring into being around me. This continued for a few moments more, before calming as abruptly as it had started. The next thing I knew, the water level had dropped below my neck and I coughed, desperately pulling air into my lungs.

Once I had appeased my body, I took the moment to appraise my surroundings, staring around in wonderment. There was a perfect indent in the water around me, just low enough for me to be able to breathe. This was definitely not a natural occurrence, but I certainly wasn't complaining. In fact, telling nature to screw itself was more in line with Parahuman nature than anything I had-

I froze, craning my neck to look up at the dock, where I could see Emma peering over the side, her face screwed up in concentration.

 _No. It couldn't be._

I tried to speak, but my throat closed up in shock, confronting the impossibility in front of me.

"H-hang on Taylor!" Emma rasped, as the water beneath me started to churn again. In no time at all, the weight dragging me down ceased, and I bobbed to the surface as the indent closed itself. Before I had time to process this however, a geyser formed underneath me, and I shot over the seawall, landing in a sodden heap.

I barely had time to crawl into a sitting position before a red-haired missile knocked me over again. Emma impacted against my chest, sobbing so hard I was certain that my hoodie would have been soaked if it hadn't been waterlogged already. I used the time I spent calming the distraught girl down to assess the situation. I was fairly sure at this point that Emma had triggered with water control or something similar. The circumstances surrounding my escape from the water were too suspicious for it to be anything else.

I sighed, leaning on the pole behind me as I stroked Emma's hair, the redhead continuing to sniffle into my chest. This sure was an annoying situation. I would just have to hope it hadn't set her back too far. I didn't want to be saddled being Emma's minder or moral compass, or whatever the hell she wanted me for. _That_ was not something I wanted to touch with a barge pole if I could help it. Emma shifted in my grip and stiffened as she caught my eyes. I managed to give a tired smile, but this only set her shivering and backing away from me as though I'd scared her.

"Emma?" I ventured cautiously, "What's wrong?"

"I, I just let you fall." She breathed, horror evident in every line of her body. "Just after I swore I wouldn't."

"What? No! You saved my life!"

"But I just stood there. _Again._ "

She turned her head to the docks, fixing her gaze on the softly lapping waves. She crawled over to the edge, stretching a hand out to the waters below.

"… I've made too many mistakes lately. I thought I had been getting better, but that's obviously not happening. Even when I try, I can't be good. But this'll be the last mistake. Even if I have to take your place."

All this was said to the water, even though I had the suspicion she was really directing her words at me. I sat there, puzzled by her speech for a few seconds, all the while Emma seemed to be psyching herself up for something. Mistakes? What did she mean by 'take my place', I mean, it wasn't as if she could-

The realisation hit me with the force of a train, forcing the air from my lungs as I struggled to draw breath at the revelation.

 _She was going to kill herself?_

She obviously wasn't thinking straight if she thought that her committing suicide would make my life any easier. But then again, she wasn't thinking straight, even now. Sure, she'd improved, but now her entire universe seemed to orient itself around me, as much as I wished otherwise. If she saw herself as a threat to my safety, even by inaction… The thought process was all too plausible. It was a warped and distorted logic, but if you could understand her motivations, it worked.

Unfortunately, I could see only one way out of this, one way I could prevent the girl in front of me from killing herself, from her death being on my shoulders. I didn't know who I hated more in that moment, Emma for forcing myself into this situation, or myself for accepting it. Taking a deep breath, I stood and made my way over to Emma, forcing as much of my power and authority into my voice as I spoke.

"Emma Barnes." I declared, choking back my revulsion at what I was about to say.

"Did I say I was finished with you?"

She froze, her movements stopping entirely. Not even her chest rose to draw breath. After a beat, she craned her head around to look at me, eyes wide and mouth gaping, an expression of utter shock on her face.

"Face me when I address you!" I snapped, desperately trying to get her to face away from the water. Whilst I was fairly sure she could control the water, I wasn't sure if she could breathe in it if she fell in, considering she'd thought she could drown herself.

She scrambled to obey, moving to face me fully, kneeling facing me, something approaching rapture in her eyes, and… Relief? I mentally shook my head. Now wasn't the time to analyse her. My first priority was to save her life, then, and only then could I worry about everything else.

"You said you would make up for your indiscretions. How then do you expect to make up for yourself when you are dead? You cannot pay the price with such paltry change, so sit up and pay attention!"

"You are mine!"

I choked the words out, disgust threatening to overwhelm me, but I persevered, maintaining my mask as I drew upon all the stories my mom had told me, of how Nobles spoke, the way they acted, of how Kings and Queens held court, all of this to prevent myself from breaking the act, of letting my feelings show. I needed to do this, even though it was tearing me up inside. If not for my sake, then Emma's. To keep her alive, I had no choice.

"From this day forth, you belong to me and only me! You shall be an instrument of my will, an extension of my authority, of my power. You shall abide by my words as if they were law, to disobey is not permitted!"

"You shall protect me, support in all things. You will act as my shield, your powers and ability put to my use as a vassal under my command. You shall comport yourself in a manner befitting your station, and in return I offer direction and purpose as well as my ear and aid in times of strife."

Right. That should be enough. Still within the bounds of 'servitude', but not so much under my thumb that I was taking everything from her without giving anything in return. Not that I could leverage that to any improvement in the situation. I needed to concede this given that it was what seemed to be keeping her both alive and somewhat sane. Even I could see she was crazy, although it was a functional crazy, although someone who wasn't able to follow her train of thought probably wouldn't agree.

"Do you swear to this oath?"

"I do Mistress."

Oh no. No. No. No. _NO._

I fought against the urge to grit my teeth and instead exhaled slowly to calm myself. I had to cut that off at the knees _right now._ I wasn't having her call me _Mistress._ No way. I opened my mouth to speak, then groaned silently as I foresaw a potential problem. If I cracked down on her too hard, would that cause a relapse? Would she see that as me abandoning her? I couldn't chance it. I had to give her some leeway.

"Good. But you may only refer to me as… ' _Mistress_ ' in private." I shuddered on the word, forcing myself through and beyond.

"There may be others who take offence at our bond, and seek to separate us. You may refer to me as Taylor when in public." I commanded, wincing at the possible fallout of _that_ particular titbit. "Other than that, we have an accord." I finished, letting the mask drop, trying to push the last few minutes behind me. I sagged, my breath leaving me in one explosive breath as relief and exhaustion flooded through me.

"Now we just wait for the crates to be moved."

* * *

I was violently sick immediately after I got home.

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this today?"

"I'm sure." I replied, rubbing my forehead in exasperation. "I need something to take my mind off of what happened."

It was late in the evening, the colours of the setting sun bleeding through the thinning clouds. Dad and I were parked outside one of the warehouses used by the dockworkers union. I'd managed to pry Emma from my side once she'd calmed down, although she'd stayed as close to me as she could bar touching me the entire evening.

I was still trying to come to terms with my new responsibilities in regards to Emma. I still hadn't fully processed the shift in our relationship yet. I guess I was still in shock, fully accepting the day's events would take some time, at which point I'd probably either have a small breakdown or laugh myself to death.

There was only so much ridiculousness I could take.

Until then, I'd put it off as long as I could, and hopefully by then I'd be used to it before it became an issue. I grabbed my bag out of the back of the car, promising my dad I'd make my own way home as I walked toward the doors. My feet crunched against the gravel as I crossed the threshold, taking a moment for my eyes to adjust to the gloom of the warehouse before I continued, shifting the strap of my bag over my shoulder as I went.

"Hey Beanpole!"

I turned, raising my hand in greeting toward the speaker as I shrugged my bag off my shoulder and shucked off my hoodie, cracking my knuckles as I dropped them at the edge of the padded area, reaching over my shoulder to stretch my muscles, repeating the motion for my other arm as I looked over my shoulder and greeted the speaker.

"Evening Paul. Weapons today?"

The man paused in his crunches long enough to give a nod of confirmation, before continuing his reps. I myself finished my stretching routine before fishing around in my bag. Paul Squire was one of the dock hands at the DWU, with the physique and tanned skin typical for someone of his profession. Being a man of some fifty years, his hair and beard were starting to show signs of age, grey threading through more than the black it had originally been, but his age hadn't slowed him down at all. When Dad had finally come to terms with me being a Parahuman, and my intention to go out heroing, he'd asked around and seen if any of his colleagues had been able to teach me to fight.

It was due to Paul that I'd been able to keep up with Sophia long enough to out-manoeuvre her in our duel. Unlike in the movies, you don't immediately become a badass after you get superpowers. The only time I'd actually taken her head-on was after she'd blindsided be in the hallway of that one ship. That confrontation had been barely over a minute, and even then I'd nearly collapsed from the strain. After that, it had been both Sophia and Paul teaching me to fight, for which I was grateful.

Understandably, in a place such as Brockton Bay, such an ask wasn't even given a second glance. Especially for a man's teenage daughter. Paul never talked about himself much, and I wasn't insensitive enough to push. From what I'd managed to gather he used to be part of Marquis' operations. The way he fought, his emphasis on there being no such thing as a fair fight and his willingness to teach me to protect myself all reminded me of the stories I'd heard about the time before I was born, of Marquis and The Teeth, and when New Wave was still the Brockton Bay Brigade.

Pulling myself out of my thoughts, I fished my metallic rod out of my bag, giving it a twirl to open it up to full extension. What unfolded in my hands was a dull metallic staff about as long as I was tall. We'd found out fairly early on in my training that strength was never going to be my greatest, well strength, but I was light on my feet and possessed a good turn of speed when I put my mind to it. Another thing I'd learnt was that whilst I bemoaned my lanky limbs in my daily life, the point stood that my lankiness gave me more reach than was normally to be expected from someone my age.

It was these factors that had gone into the consideration pf my weapon, namely the staff I was holding. Something like a dagger would be a waste of my reach, let alone the trouble I would get into for carrying around a bladed weapon. A sword was out for mainly the fact that I didn't yet have the strength to wield one properly, and tonfa and escrima sticks were out for much the same reasons as the dagger. That left me with the staff. The fact that it took advantage of my reach and was one of the few weapons that I could carry in a miniaturized state without using any of my Tinker-Tech was a bonus.

"First to five, as usual?" I asked, sweeping my staff lazily through the air as I stepped out of my trainers and socks, moving onto the mat. Paul nodded with his usual frown as he fished a rubber training knife out of his belt. Being the weapon I was most likely going to encounter if I ever did have to defend myself out of costume, the dagger was a common sight during our training sessions. Realistically, there wasn't anything I could do against a gun short of armouring up.

That was a situation I hoped never to encounter.

I shook myself out of my thoughts just in time to catch Paul lunge toward me, knife held in a backwards grip as he charged. One of the first things he'd taught me was that there was no countdown to a fight, that your opponent was unlikely to be courteous enough to abide my some sense of chivalry or fairness. You either fought dirty or you died. I supposed it was one of the subtle distinctions between teaching me a martial art and teaching me to _fight_. He'd once said that in a fight between a street brawler and a trained martial artist of a similar experience level, the street brawler would win nine times out of ten. My face must have been a picture because he'd actually smirked before he explained himself.

" _While it may be true tha' the martial artist may have more tricks and skills to use, if 'e don't know how to use them in a proper fight then he may as well not 'ave 'em. On the other 'and, the brawler don't have as many fancy tricks, but what he has he knows how to use, and use 'em properly."_

I didn't bother trying to block his downward stab. The first time I'd tried that I'd realised that his muscles weren't just for show, and it had only been Paul's reactions that had prevented me from having my eye poked out. Instead, I held my staff at angle, moving forward and past him, letting the downward momentum of his attack move him past me. Like water off a rock. I rolled over his outstretched foot, bringing my staff up in a defensive twirl the second I was able, batting away another strike at my back as I rose. I turned, skipping backward a few paces to gain some ground, intently watching him for any signs of movement.

I breathed in deeply through my nose, exhaling slowly through my mouth as I contemplated my next move. Keeping him at length was ideal, I could keep him at bay with my staff and keep him on the back foot. I didn't want him to get in close, beyond the fact that his weapon was suited to super-close combat, he would very quickly overpower me in such a situation, not to mention that my entire style rotated around manoeuvrability and speed, so if I was in that situation it was likely I'd already lost. With that in mind, my only problem if he didn't close the gap was him grabbing hold of my staff and using it to unbalance me. I'd had it happen before and it wasn't fun.

Taking the initiative this time I lunged, the tip of my staff spearing for Paul's solar plexus. Flipping his grip on the knife even as he moved, Paul caught the rod of metal with his knife, redirecting the strike to pass under his armpit. I felt a jolt as he clamped his arm against his side, trapping my staff.

He turned, forcing me to let go of my weapon as the metal was wrenched from my grip, tumbling to land just at the edge of the mat with a soft thunk. I took only a second to decide on a course of action. Disregarding my lack of a weapon, I charged straight at Paul. Now this would normally be the point where I would try to dodge around the man and retrieve my staff, but I knew better. It would be what he'd expect, we'd sparred often enough that I couldn't hope to stand up to him head-on.

I closed the distance, twitching just the slightest amount to the left as though to dodge past him, angling my feet and bunching my muscles in order to sell the lie. Paul responded, moving the knife across his body to intercept me, which would have scored a line down my side if it had connected.

I awkwardly corrected my footing, instead forcing myself straight at my opponent. It was hasty, and in doing so I lost a great deal of my momentum, but it was enough. Paul reacted to my change in direction, moving to take a step back and open up some distance between us, even as he bought the knife back in a clumsy sidewards swipe.

I raised my right arm to block the blow, feeling the hard rubber drag across my skin in what would surely have been a painful, but non-lethal blow. In return, I was able to bring my left fist up inside Paul's guard in a reverse punch, shifting my hips to make up for the lost momentum.

We froze, my fist an inch from his Adam's apple, the knife resting on my arm near my elbow. Paul grinned, stepping back and allowing me to relax my muscles.

"Heh, good one Beanpole." He grinned, kicking my staff back over to me across the mat.

"But try to keep hold of your weapon next time yeah?"

I sent back a wordless grin and nodded, before I tensed myself and charged once more.

* * *

I jumped, clearing the gap between buildings as I made my way home. Flaring my levitation panels, I extended my leap, clearing two buildings before I had to pull my feet under me to prevent a stumble. My boots rang against the metal of the railings as I braced myself and altered my trajectory slightly, adjusting for the way the streets wound round the bay as I launched myself skyward once more. While I would rather fly home, my muscles burning as they were, I had opted for the Huna/roof hopping route instead. The last thing I wanted to do was lead any gangs back to my home, no matter how much my muscles shrieked in protest.

As I continued on my way, vaulting over a billboard to gain the extra leverage necessary to cross a particularly large intersection, another burst of gunfire sounded in the distance. It seemed like the confrontation between the E88 and the ABB during my debut wasn't an isolated incident. Something had sparked them off, and they were at each other's throats more than ever. There had been skirmishes that had been getting steadily larger over the last few months, and it was only a matter of time before the two gangs went to war.

Not that war would change things much, just the intensity.

With the Protectorate stuck in the middle of the two factions and New Wave's presence a non-entity apart from Glory Girl, Sophia had been seeing more action out on her patrols. I had been reluctant to join her, being that I'd as good as run away from the Protectorate last time I'd seen them. I wasn't sure if they'd be all that happy about that little slipup.

Still, it gave me time to make tweaks to the armour and iron out any niggles Sophia reported. The largest of which seemed to be the fact that for several weeks after receiving the armour, she was unable to activate the power of the Sanok. The link between them was strong as far as I could sense from my power, and she could activate all the other enhancements on the armour, just not the Kanohi itself.

I was baffled, there shouldn't be a reason for the problem as far as I could tell, and I spent the next two weeks searching for a reason why, or at least a work-around. As it turned out, I needn't have bothered. At the end of the fortnight, Sophia had come back from patrol in a better mood than usual. She'd been able to use the Sanok during a fight in which she'd saved a woman from a gang of E88 thugs. Maybe it just took time?

A flickering light broke my train of thought, the shadows in front of me dancing like tongues. I skidded to a stop, turning to my left to follow the source of the light and my breath caught in my throat.

The light came from a massive fire consuming most of an apartment complex. Firefighters and paramedics were arrayed outside the structure, tending to the wounded. The scared occupants of the building huddled together behind police tape as jets of water scoured the building, attempting to drown the flames.

I didn't even realise I'd moved until the ground dropped away beneath me. Reflexively flaring my levitation panels, I easily crossed the gap between buildings as I ran toward the fire. Halfway there, a roar that would be familiar to any Brocton Bay native reached my ears. Despite my earlier reluctance at meeting them, I was never gladder to see the heroes. I spun in mid-air during my next jump, spotting the distinctive shape of Armsmaster's bike tearing down the road two blocks out from my position.

A smile spread across my face. This wasn't going to be as bad as I'd first thought. The only way I had for stopping the flames was my freeze Kanoka, and I'd paid attention in school. The freeze-thaw would severely compromise the structure of the building before I would be able to stop the flames, and I didn't have anything to see through walls. Armsmaster was likely to have answers to those problems, stopping the fire and locating the remaining occupants of the building leaving me to rescue them.

I kept track of the bike in my peripheral vision as it drew closer. Any moment now he'd make the turn to bring him onto the street the apartments were located on. I'd have to be careful not to surprise him as I dropped from the sky. Maybe moving to ground level first would be a-

I almost tripped in surprise as the change in pitch signifying Armsmaster slowing to make the turn _didn't happen._ Spinning, I managed to catch him just as he left my field of view, still continuing in the direction he'd been going in initially, completely ignoring the fire.

My disbelief gave way to anger as a fiery ball of rage settled in my gut. He just _ignored_ them? What was the whole point of the heroes if they wouldn't help those in danger? Although it did explain how most of the villains seemed to-. No, no Taylor. Keep your head in the game. Save people trapped in building now. Contemplate the Protectorate's inadequacies later.

"… know but we can't do anything. The flames are too strong now, we can't go in."

"Fucking Nazis. That's no way for someone to die."

As I got closer I caught the tail end of a conversation between two firefighters. Briefly going through the snippet in my head, I deduced it was most likely there were still people inside the building. My anger spiked again before I forced it down, gritting my teeth as I dropped my concealment and spoke to the two men before me.

"Where are they?"

Unsurprisingly, the two men jumped and span around, eyes wide as they faced me.

"What? Who are you?"

"The people still in the fire. Where are they? And I'm a new Cape, you wouldn't know me. Now are we going to waste time or can I get in there?"

"Uhh Sure." The firefighter seemed to shake himself out of his stupor as his next words were quick and concise, with a confidence behind them I hadn't seen so far. "The only family unaccounted for are the Millers. Family of three, Mother, Father and a year and a half-old Baby. Third floor, south side." He grimaced. "We'd go in for them but we can't stand the heat any longer, are you sure you can get there?"

"I am." I responded, switching to the Kadin in preparation of the trip.

"Hey, one last thing." He said, catching my attention. "If they have any sense then hopefully they're in the bathroom. It'll be the smaller rectangular window, fifth from the right. Good Luck."

Nodding my head once, I rocketed up to the third story, circling round the building to the spot the firefighter had indicated. Counting the windows, I flew closer, using my levitation panels to prevent my fall as I switched the Kadin out for the Pakari, ripping the window from the wall. One advantage I had over the firefighters in this situation was my mobility. I wouldn't have to rely on the interior staircases or ladders to get to those trapped inside.

I hopped into the bathroom, feeling a blast of warm air hit me even under my armour. My cursory glance revealed nothing, no-one in the room at all. Just as I was about to move into the next room, the slightest sound of water on tile caught my attention. Pulling aside the shower curtain, a spray of water hit me in the face and I ducked reflexively before realising it wasn't an attack.

The family lay unconscious in the bathtub, the showerhead pointed at the curtain to form a makeshift barrier against the heat and the smoke. Clever. I carefully picked the mother up bridal style, her arms still clutched around her baby as I cautiously made my way back out the window. I floated over to the ground before sprinting round the side of the building before carefully handing the pair off to the Paramedics.

Racing back round to the back of the building, I threw myself back through the window once more. Slinging the man over my shoulder, I manoeuvred myself and my passenger out to safety, repeating my previous journey more sedately.

Setting the father down, I was approached by the firefighter I'd spoken to earlier. Rolling my shoulders and shaking off the aching in my limbs, I turned to face the man, stepping forward to greet him as I did so.

"Sorry if I was a bit … abrupt, before. I just didn't want to-"

"It's Okay kid!" he laughed, eyes crinkling at the sides, mouth flashing in a smile. "You're fine. Don't worry about it. You were just worried about the people after all. Besides, it's not every day I get a bona fide hero to do my job for me."

A Hero.

How long had I wanted to be that? To be the saviour, to be the hero of someone's story? By the conversation that had been occurring as I arrived, the family I'd pulled out of the building would be dead if not for me. A possibly egotistical thought, but the fact still remained. But still, a hero? For some reason the word rankled, it didn't sit right as a name, a title. I could be a hero through my actions, but a Hero?

No.

The memory of a retreating figure in blue armour only served to reinforce this thought.

"NO."

My voice cut through the chatter, the vitriol surprising even myself.

"No."

I spoke again, the softness of my voice cutting easily through the silence. "You should not pass that word around so easily. It is not a title to be degraded by those unworthy of the name. It should be bestowed only upon those who _are_ worthy, not given out to anyone who just so happens to join the Protectorate. We have so many Heroes now, and how many of them are actually heroic?"

I continued speaking, deeply-buried doubts and frustrations coming to the fore from a place I wasn't even sure I was fully aware of. Regardless, before the captive gaze of my audience, the words just kept pouring forth.

"Even the new members are called Heroes, despite having done nothing to earn the title, as though the very act of joining is somehow regarded as the same as any of the feats those that earn the name perform?"

"No. Others may, in time, see fit to call me by such a name. But I am not so egotistical as to call myself such purely because of which side of the law I come down on."

The firefighter looked at me steadily, an appraising gaze that seemed to re-evaluate me. I did my best not to fidget under his gaze as I studied the bystanders to distract myself. A number were standing, shocked by my outburst while a few were wearing contemplative faces, and as I watched, more seemed to slip into thoughtful poses, doubtlessly running through my words in their thoughts.

And just like that, the gravity of the situation changed.

No longer was I a run-of-the-mill newbie Parahuman, wide-eyed and fangirling over the PRT and Protectorate. I had seen one of the so-called 'Heroes' abandon his duty and leave the people he was supposed to protect to die. It was at that moment that I made a decision that I'd been agonising over for months. After witnessing such an act, I couldn't trust the Protectorate to act in the way I anticipated if this was indeed the reality.

I wouldn't be joining the Wards.

As that decision cemented itself in my mind, I straightened. No longer was I biding my time until I was powerful enough to get a favourable deal from the PRT, I would stand on my own merits, my own words and actions would decide my path.

"What would you like us to call you then?"

The words were spoken slowly, cautiously. Regardless of that fact there was a core of respect behind them. I was no longer being humoured like an impudent child. I was being spoken to as an equal, as someone who struck out their own way, someone who walked unbowed, undaunted.

"Call me?" I echoed, smiling slightly as I caught the shifting of a cop out the corner of my eye. The PRT obviously had connections to the Police, so my presence here would likely be reported, as were my views on the Protectorate as an organisation. Not that I minded. Everything they would do to prove me wrong would either prove my point that they only looked out for themselves, or their efforts would mean they would actually be doing what they said they did, protecting people.

Either way, this was an opportunity for me to get my name across after I'd frantically wracked my brain after the debacle at the docks. It hadn't been easy, but in the end only one had seemed right, only one that fully encompassed not only my power, but what I wanted to achieve.

The next part was somewhat harder, although I had no desire to carry the title of those that had dishonoured it, I did not know what I wanted to call myself instead. Trusting in my instincts, I drew on the part of me that had delivered my speech just moments ago, trusting myself to choose correctly, and spoke.

"My name is Artakha, and I am a Toa."


	5. Interlude 1

The Masks We Wear Chapter 05

Worm/Bionicle

Interlude 1

 **Emily Piggot**

I moved the papers in front of me to the side, leaving space on the desk for my clasped hands as I set them down slowly on the table. Resisting the urge to rub my temples, I restrained any outward signs of annoyance to a slight twitch in my eyebrow. It was times like this that I wished I could have a drink.

"Why don't we start with what we know?"

The two Parahumans sitting opposite me straightened slightly at my words causing their chairs to creak slightly as they shifted their balance. The pair opposite had been working with me long enough to be able to discern my moods. Today, I was not in a good mood.

Armsmaster nodded before turning to fiddle with something on his wrist, prompting the screen at the end of the room to flare into life, prompting both myself and Miss Militia, the other Parahuman present, to turn toward the image.

"Our first knowledge of the Parahuman known as 'Artakha' happened in the latter part of last year."

He pressed something on his gauntlet, switching to an image of a pair of crossbows, a number of crossbow bolts, and a strange looking projectile weapon that was obviously Tinker-Tech.

"Although he was too late to catch them, the report filed by Velocity describes what looks to be the aftermath of a confrontation between this Artakha and the vigilante known as Shadow Stalker. Further information leads us to believe that they were undergoing a training exercise rather than engaging in combat. Regardless of the nature of their meeting, they must have had some way to detect Velocity's approach because they fled the area before he arrived, leaving behind their weaponry in order to do so."

"The next recorded instance of her involvement included the first reported sighting."

The screen changed again, this time showing a still image from Clockblocker's view as Artakha launched herself toward Stormtiger.

"Six Months ago, one of the conflicts between the Empire and the ABB spilled over into the Dockworker's Union. Artakha intervened, evacuating the remaining dockworkers before engaging and incapacitating Krieg using an unknown ice weapon. Immediately after she engaged Stormtiger, and with the assistance of Shadow Stalker and Clockblocker, managed to subdue him as well."

"Although she once again fled the area before we were able to question her more thoroughly, the reports filed by Aegis and Clockblocker were positive, at least from what they were able to gain from speaking to her. During this exchange, both Wards were able to gather enough information to place her age between 14-16, which would go some way to explaining the rapport she has built with Shadow Stalker, being that they are estimated to be around the same age."

"Last night, there was a confrontation between the Parahumans Hookwolf and Victor of the Empire and Oni Lee of the ABB, along with several unpowered members of both gangs. Assault and Battery were the closest patrol to the conflict, and I was able to arrive on the scene fast enough to assist."

Here, he paused, somehow managing to look like a guilty schoolchild under all his armour, before he seemed to shake himself off, continuing his report.

"During this period, fleeing members of the Empire set fire to an apartment complex to draw the authorities off their pursuit. Having received a report from Miss Militia on the Console that the situation was in hand, I ignored the fire and proceeded to the site of conflict. It was at this time that the fire increased in scope to the point that the firefighters were unable to enter the building. This was also when Artakha arrived on the scene."

"And we know how the rest went from there." I finished, sighing internally at the blunt summation of our dealings with Artakha.

"Having any new Parahuman be at odds with us is a failure in and of itself, but to actively speak out like that? No-one apart from the gangs attempts to discredit us like that. I've also managed to look at the reports, and yes, the evacuation of the building and the fire were under control when you sent the request in Armsmaster. It was only when you got nearer to the site that the condition escalated. As much as it looks bad, at the time, with the information you had, the pair of you made the right decision. Unfortunately this time it seems to have cost us a new Cape."

Miss Militia nodded at my words before speaking, leaning forward ever so slightly to lay her hands on the table, mirroring my own.

"And what's worse is the poor girl won't be able to survive for long on her own. Given the embarrassment she caused the E88, I doubt they're going to let this go easily. Forced recruitment may be the best outcome she can hope for, depending on her ethnicity of course."

"That's another thing." I agreed, sliding the sheaf of papers back in front of me in order to rifle through the pages, looking for the report on the terms she had used.

"While we can't find a term that describes Artakha as a word, we were able to find some references to the use of the term 'Toa'. The word itself has differing connotations depending on the way it is used. When used to describe a person, like the way Artakha used it, it means a champion or a warrior. But the word itself is of the Maori language, and is the term used to describe those that hunt for food, and protect their villages from predators."

A somewhat sombre silence descended upon the room at that revelation. If she really was of Maori descent, and chose the name to honour her ancestors, the Empire were going to kill her for her slight. I calmly closed the papers, moving them to the side as I clasped my hands before me once more.

It was a shame, and not just because any Parahuman was welcome to the Protectorate due to the fact we were vastly outnumbered. The girl, Artakha, didn't seem to adhere to any of the normal paradigms of a Parahuman. Given the fact that we knew nothing about her trigger event, we couldn't know if her first outing was within the first six months of her gaining her powers, like normal. The weapon we'd been able to retrieve from the Boat Graveyard was obviously Tinker-Tech, yet no reports had come in of someone matching the height and build of Artakha buying up parts or raiding junkyards for scrap.

It was almost like she'd come out of thin air. We had no reports, no inclinations, nothing. She jumped into the middle of a gang fight in a suit of armour that suggested she'd been active for a long time, took out the unpowered members in a way that spoke of months of training, had taken on one of the most senior members of the Empire solo, before proceeding to tag-team Stormtiger with Shadow Stalker.

It was equal parts vexing and intriguing that she had fled straight after. On one hand, she'd disappeared before we could question her. On the other, she didn't stay to bask in the glory either, after taking down not one, but two of the Empire's strongest capes on what was, as far as we knew, her debut.

In every recorded instance, she'd gone for the evacuation and protection of the civilians rather than engaging any enemy capes, unlike a number of individuals I could name. Again, with the fire, she'd thrown herself into a burning building to save people, while all along having no way of knowing if she'd get out alive.

And that wasn't even taking into account her combat prowess.

Despite being vastly outgunned on a purely theoretical level, she'd not only held her own solo against a cape vastly her superior in terms of sheer experience, but soundly defeated him. That spoke of a tactical mind, of someone who's first, or only response to something wasn't just to hit it. Although the sheer number of abilities she'd shown was downright worrying. Teleportation, powered movement, enhanced strength, levitation and ice generation to name just a few.

It seemed like she was all but adamant that she wasn't going to join, not with the speech she'd given in the wake of the fire. Someone with her abilities would be gladly accepted into the Wards, or the Protectorate if she was eighteen. Given her views on the organisation though, I had my doubts as to how likely that possibility was.

Due to her power, it was only a matter of time before she was either killed or forcibly recruited by one of the various factions. It was our job, our responsibility as the Protectorate, to convince her to join us.

If for no other reason than for her own good.


	6. Interlude 2

**Well Hello everybody! We're beck with chapter six!**

 **I'm glad to see that the response to this continues to be positive, considering my relative inexperience at this. I hope you all continue to enjoy the story!**

 **Right, two points of Admin to get out of the way before we start.**

 **The first is that this chapter is written in third person. After the Piggot interlude, the SB crowd suggested I write in the third person when writing interludes. Considering the mindset I had to get myself into to write from Piggot's perspective, I found this a lot easier, and the overall response seems to be positive thus far. Hopefully that trend will continue.**

 **Second is that the last interlude was meant to be posted last week, but I forgot. Sorry Chaps. So you get two in a week instead. Hope that makes up for it, even if they are short.**

 **Just before I forget though, over on the SpaceBattles version of this, on the index page there's a list of all Kanohi and equipment used thus far for those less familiar with the Bionicle side of things.**

 **Let's get to it then shall we?**

The Masks We Wear Chapter 06

Worm/Bionicle

Interlude 2

 **Coil**

"Move in."

On the softly spoken command, the screens above the desk flickered into motion as the Tinker-Tech Mercenaries piled out of the van, the cameras on their helmets following the motions of their heads as they stealthily made their way to their target, using the darkness of the night to their advantage.

The man sitting behind the desk was dressed in a black bodysuit and face-concealing mask, his hands steeped in front of him and attention firmly riveted upon the progress displayed on the screens in front of him.

Coil, for that was the man's name, had been planning this operation for some time. A new Parahuman, especially one so young, was easy to manipulate. If he could manage to get her under his thumb, he would be able to field agents without making it obvious that it was his hand pulling the strings. The PRT had already clocked that he liked to use mercenaries for his operations, but an Independent Parahuman? They would never find the connection.

The fact that the PRT reports were fairly certain she was also a Tinker also had to be taken into consideration. That had pushed the priority of the acquisition up significantly. Being that Tinkers were major force multipliers, he couldn't allow the Protectorate to take her under their wing. Given her recent outburst though, that was unlikely. That made it all the easier for him to paint her as someone opposed to the PRT in the future.

He was impressed at her abilities despite himself. Taking down both Krieg and Stormtiger on her first outing? And Krieg solo at that? And that wasn't mentioning the effort he'd had to expend in tracking her down. It had been all but impossible. If he were a lesser man, he wouldn't have managed it. It was only due to the hidden cameras he had scattered around the city along with his back door into the city's CCTV and Traffic Cameras that he'd been able to find her at all.

There weren't many people who appeared out of thin air in the middle of an alley after all. From that lucky break, it had been an easy feat to follow her to her home and to discover her identity.

Taylor Hebert.

Her height and body type fit the profile, as did her gait, and her estimated age. Hopefully she would be worth the time he'd invested into finding her.

"Sir the door seems to be reinforced. Permission to use the laser?"

Coil depressed a button on his desk, allowing him to speak to his Mercenaries.

"Permission granted."

After all, it wouldn't matter in a few minutes anyway. With the difficulty he'd had in locating her in the first place, it was inconceivable that she'd leave her home undefended. He fully expected to fail here, but the information he'd gain would help him to acquire her later. The reinforced door would only be the start, he could tell.

"Roger, Alpha Leader confirms."

"Roger, Beta Leader confirms."

Two of the screens lit up with a red glow as the leaders of the two teams slowly used their lasers mounted on the underside of their rifles to burn through the edges of the front and back doors. Almost as one, the doors fell inwards, hitting the floor with heavy thumps.

A split second later, Coil winced as the blaring of an alarm sent a spike of pain through his head, wincing as he raised a hand to his temple in an effort to abate the pain.

"Move, move! Acquire the package!"

At the team leader's yell, the assembled Mercenaries moved quickly into the house, stepping past tables and chairs and up the stairs. Spreading out, doors were kicked in roughly, the first revealing a man sitting up in bed, before he wavered and disappeared.

Coil fought down a surge of annoyance. Capturing the Father would have been an important part into figuring out how the girl would act under pressure. No matter, the setback could be accounted for in future operations.

"Leave him." He snapped into his mic, even as the Mercenaries started to scan the room for any signs of his presence. "Continue to the primary objective."

The three men swept out of the room, just as the advance team kicked in the door to the girl's room. As he'd expected, she was awake, standing just to the side of her bed, her long hair still mussed from sleep. As the first man crossed the threshold, her body was obscured by a flash of bright light, exacerbating Coil's headache as the screens shone white with the glare.

The Mercenaries were well trained, the first two reflexively opening fire with their respective incapacitating weaponry. The first fired a tranquiliser dart full of a Tinker-tech serum, designed to infect the bone marrow of the subject, leaving them with fragile bones and a weakened immune system, perfect for capture, leaving them unable to effectively resist until the antidote was administered. The second fired a blinding flash of electrical energy, designed to fry electronics. When he'd discovered the Hebert girl was a Tinker, He'd made sure at least one man in each squad was carrying this weapon. You could never be too careful, after all.

There was a small 'tink' sound, like metal on metal, followed by a horrific crackling sound. The screens dimmed, and as the light abated, so did Coil's headache. As the light finally dimmed, he was able to see the Hebert girl still standing. She was wearing a silver breastplate along with a single boot of the same material, but the rest of her was still clad in her pyjamas, albeit burnt and smoking from the electrical attack. It seemed his precautions had been successful.

The electrical discharge must have disrupted whatever teleportation technology she was using to summon her armour to her, preventing the full suit from manifesting. The development was fortunate. A Tinker with only a few pieces of equipment was far less dangerous than one with a full complement of weaponry. A gleam of metal drew his eyes down to the floor, where the dart lay. It must have been deflected by the armour as it was called, rebounding off onto the floor.

Hebert's face contorted in a grimace for a moment before she threw herself into a dive, leaving the second dart to soar harmlessly over her shoulder and embed itself into the far wall. The dive took her across the room to a desk, where she plucked a metal rod about thirty centimetres across from the wooden surface.

Brandishing it before her, the rod elongated rapidly, until she was holding a metallic staff just short of being as long as the girl herself was tall. As she moved, propelling herself forward, the top of the staff lit up with a snap-hiss, forming a thirty centimetre dark blue blade, shifting in the low light.

The second Mercenary fired his electricity cannon, white tendrils of light reaching out for the charging Tinker. The girl didn't even slow. Adjusting her weapon so the blue blade was between her and the electricity, she took the attack head-on. Before Coil's startled eyes, the lightning hit the blade and wrapped around it, but went no further. Hebert then bought the spear, for he could see now that was what the weapon was, across her body, the stream of lightning following, to tap the blade against the first Mercenary.

One of the screens instantly went dark, the fragile electronics unable to survive the electricity coursing through the man's body. The second Mercenary halted his attack, the camera struggling to adjust to the drop in light level. Before he could bring his rifle to bear however, she was in his face, thrusting her spear up and into his chest.

As yet another screen died, Coil's eyebrow arched. Interesting. It would seem that she wasn't as virtuous as she seemed. Going straight for the kill? That wasn't something a hero would do. He would have to re-evaluate his approach. Turning to another screen, he watched dispassionately as the impaled Man jerked and shuddered as though he was being electrocuted. As the spear was pulled out, it was with interest that Coil saw no outward signs of injury. Maybe his hasty realisation had been incorrect. Was the blade itself insubstantial? It could be an approximation of Crusader's power, being able to only affect living tissue. Or it could be some sort of suspension, the blue field encasing some other substance. From the way the second man's feed had cut as fast as the first, electricity or some approximation of such would be most likely.

As the second man dropped to the floor, another stepped up, firing a dart that failed to connect. Hebert flowed out of the line of fire, her blade passing through the man's neck, dropping him like a puppet with its strings cut. Instead of allowing him to fall to the ground however, Hebert grabbed hold of his collar and held him up, his body acting as a shield between her and the rest of the Mercenaries.

The move itself was a good one. As long as the rest of the men cared about their comrade (which they didn't), they would be unwilling to shoot through him to hit her. As it stood, the darts would be unable to penetrate the incapacitated Mercenary and the spear had already been shown to negate the electricity weapon.

Stalemate.

The hallway fell into a tense silence, the blaring of the alarm the only sound as Hebert took the opportunity to move out of her doorway, forcing the Mercenaries to back up lest they come under attack from the spear. Oddly, Hebert continued to advance, her eyes narrowed in anticipation. Coil furrowed his brow in thought. What was she waiting for? The police wouldn't be able to do anything against a force armed with Tinker-Tech weaponry, she had to know that. Maybe someone else, but then who-

The realisation hit him with the force of a lightning bolt.

"Fire the Lightning Cannons."

In fairness to his men, the two remaining wielders managed to get their weapons pointed around their fellows before they were incapacitated.

Shadow Stalker appeared out of thin air in front of Hebert. She hadn't phased out of her Breaker state, one second there was only empty air, the next the armoured vigilante had appeared, her strange Tinker-Tech weapons pointed directly at his men.

Coil suppressed a wince. He should have considered this. They had a history of co-operation. It should not have been unfeasible that they would each respond to an attack on the other's home. This would of course mean that Shadow Stalker knew Hebert was Artakha, and by the same token, Hebert must know Shadow Stalker's identity. Something to look into later.

Twin discs of metal flew from her weapons, striking the men armed with the Lightning Cannons, encasing them and the men nearest them in blocks of ice. The one man unaffected by the attack brought his rifle to bear, only to be hit by the unconscious form of Hebert's captive. The remnants of the second team charged up the stairs, only to have their feeds cut out near simultaneously. From the white corona he'd glimpsed before the loss of footage, an electricity trap on the stairs was likely.

Another flash of light from the feeds showing the encased men drew Coil's eye, along with a resurgence in the intensity of his headache. In the second during the flash, the screens flickered, so quick he might have missed it, and the screens changed. Instead of his men encased in ice, Shadow Stalker lay twitching on the ground, white fingers of electricity dancing across her form. In another, Hebert lay perfectly still, a dart sticking out of her neck, eyes wide in fear. Then the screens flickered once more, and the ice was back, Hebert and Shadow Stalker standing at the end of the hallway, both now in full armour. He made a mental note to strengthen the protection on his communications if she was so easily able to hack them.

Shadow Stalker fired again, and this time the ice encompassed the entire width of the hallway, forming a barrier of solid ice. A set of footsteps was heard faintly, before the sound of glass smashing echoed across the few feeds still transmitting.

"Sir, this is Charlie Leader. The target has exited through a window on the East side. Permission to pursue?"

Coil dropped the timeline.

It wasn't worth wasting time on a pursuit, not with how she'd hidden herself when she was unaware she was being watched. Now she was? No. It was better to use his time for other things. He breathed a sigh of relief as the timeline died, and with it his headache. He rubbed his head, making a note to get some Advil from the infirmary on his way out, but for now, he needed information on the Hebert girl. Information he couldn't get on his own. Pulling a folder across his desk, he opened it and leafed through the pages, opening up a channel to one of his men as he did so.

"Mr Pitter. Yes, I have a job for you."

He smiled at the response as he found what he wanted, the folder lying open, a blonde freckled face staring up at him from the page.


	7. Forging 1-5

**Wow, sorry for the wait everyone.**

 **My muse was being singularly unhelpful this past week. Anyway, I persevered, and I have prevailed!**

 **Points to anyone who guesses correctly the inspiration for Taylor's fighting style!**

 **Here's Chapter seven, I hope you enjoy!**

The Masks We Wear Chapter 07

Worm/Bionicle

Forging 1.5

I ducked backwards into a roll, letting the mass of blades pass over me in a glistening wave of death. I righted myself, lunging with my spear, striking the shifting figure before me as I retreated. Hookwolf flinched at my attack, before redoubling his attempts to bisect me. I flowed around the storm of blades with the use of the Calix as I struck again, once, twice, always aiming at the same spot. On the third strike, the segment of metal I hit with my spear gave way like wet cardboard, forcing the snarling metal wolf to retreat while he repaired the damage.

It had been little over a week since my decision to go solo. In that week, a lot had happened. I had finally finished my weaponry; My Electro-Chute Spear, an extending electrified polearm I carried with me in civilian guise, my expanding shield, currently mounted on my left forearm, and my Kanoka Spear of Weakening.

The theory behind it was simple enough; if the blade hit something, it would reduce the strength of the object. If it hit something organic, it would sap the energy of the person, eventually causing them to fall unconscious. If I hit anything not organic, it instead reduced the structural integrity of the object, like what had happened to Hookwolf. I wasn't initially sure about how it would treat the Empire Cape, but then I suppose he was made out of _metal._

The Empire Capes I'd assisted in capturing during the fight at the docks had escaped. _Again._ I wasn't even surprised by that, to be honest. Yet another thing I had to be annoyed at the PRT for. So Krieg, Stormtiger, Cricket and Alabaster were back on the streets. It rankled, knowing that I'd all but gift wrapped two of them, and they couldn't even hold up on their end of things. They'd wasted my efforts.

Of course, The ABB had been quick to take advantage of the decrease in the Empire's numbers, pushing hard into Empire territory. Of course, the Nazi's hadn't taken that at all well, and had pushed back. The situation wasn't helping the tension between the two gangs at all. It was ever more likely that war would be declared soon. Or it already had, and no-one had realised.

That hadn't even taken into account the fact that I'd woken up with the mother of all headaches at oh-dark-thirty on Wednesday morning, or the continual headache that was Emma. She was improving, depending upon what you determined ' _improving'_ to be. She wasn't as scared of the world now, seeming to be more comfortable in her own skin. Even if she did still look to me for guidance in most things.

Adjusting my stance, I switched to the Sanok, before expanding my shield and rotating a full three-hundred-sixty degrees to my left, throwing the slab of metal like a discus at the slowly recovering Hookwolf. The shield was a handy thing, having incorporated a fair few Kanoka into its construction. The plain disc of metal was imbued with Shrink and Enlarge Kanoka in order to reduce its size when not in use, Levitation in order to make it lighter, and Weight so I could trap people beneath it if I needed to.

My projectile soared toward the Empire Cape, closing directly in on his injured left side. He knocked it out of the air with a slash of one claw, sending the shield bouncing down the street behind him. Using the brief second he was occupied with the shield, I closed the distance with the Kakama, before switching to the Pakari and putting all my strength behind a single strike that tore his leg in half.

Jabbing him once more in his injured side to slow his healing, I danced back a few paces, putting distance between us. Undeterred, the injured Cape rushed forward, fast even on three limbs. His maw opened in a yell that I could barely hear over the chainsaw sound of his metal as it clashed against itself. I grinned slightly as I caught movement over his shoulder. I rolled my shoulders, loosening my muscles for what was to come, before I spun once again to my left, and caught my shield as it reappeared over Hookwolf's shoulder.

The Sanok really was useful.

Of course that was only when using it to land your shots, as I'd done with Krieg. Even if you were prepared for it, homing attacks were difficult to deal with unless you were able to shoot them down before they got to you, or had some sort of omni-directional defence. But if I set _myself_ as the target, then my projectiles would return to me.

It was that effect I exploited as I turned, shield held horizontal as I used my Pakari-enhanced strength to shield-bash the Nazi to the side with the force of my spin, sending him crumpling against the adjacent wall.

"Switch!"

At my yell, I pushed off the ground, my enhanced strength propelling me away from my opponent. A second after my shout, a shadow flitted through me, Shadow Stalker breaking away from her target to attack the temporarily immobilised Hookwolf. I, in turn, took another step, bringing me into range of my new target. Victor ducked, bending double to let my spear stab into the air above his head. Remembering Paul's lessons, I quickly yanked the weapon back out of his reach, even as his hand darted up to grab the polearm, barely missing it. The pair of us danced back a step, before beginning to circle each other, mentally probing each other for openings.

It was funny, really. My first patrol with Shadow Stalker and we run into Empire thugs within half an hour. And they appeared to have a grudge to settle with me. Can't imagine why. Fortunately, there had only been two Capes. What they were on their way to do, I had no idea, considering their truck had been all but abandoned the second we were spotted. Luckily the timely arrival of Glory Girl had occupied the unpowered backup, even if she did get in the way as often as she helped.

"You're strong, I'll give you that." Victor spoke up from where we were tracing a circular groove in the area around us. "But we know now. Of you, and what you can do. But you're not invincible. Why don't I show you?" I let his arrogant words roll of me like water off a duck's back. He wasn't saying anything I didn't know already. I knew not to fall to pride.

I dashed to the side as he opened fire with his pistol, the bullets passing through the space I had occupied a second before. His knife came up toward my ribs as I closed, my shield expanding so fast the blade was knocked from his hand. My spear came in under his guard with a sweeping blow, hitting him in the unarmoured part of his armpit, cutting through the red cloth and weakening the muscles in his left shoulder, disabling the arm.

I pulled back, bringing my spear round in a wide sweeping move, aiming for his opposite shoulder. In a move that left me gaping, Victor bought his leg up and caught the flat of my blade between his knee and elbow in some sort of crane stance. I pushed forward, unbalancing him and forcing him to abandon his stance in order to place his other foot on the ground.

The moment he no longer was blocking my strike, I struck. Before he could get his second foot under him, I smashed my spear against his other leg, leaving him suspended in mid-air, with nothing to ground him. My leg came in in a scything roundhouse, sending the man rolling down the street.

Not giving him a second to catch his breath, I charged. Before I had even made it halfway, Victor was up on one knee, pistol trained on me. My shield expanded with a thought, the shocks of the bullets impacting upon it travelling up my arm. The second the impacts halted, the shield was gone, and I bought my spear up in an offensive stance only to have no enemy to target.

 _Stupid!_

I chastised myself as I whirled, searching for Victor. He must have moved when my vision was obstructed. Well. Two could play at that game. I disappeared as I called upon the power of the Huna, diving to the side as a series of gunshots echoed throughout the street.

Settling into a crouch, silence descended, broken only by the roars of Hookwolf, as the two of us began a game of cat and mouse through the alleys. I ducked down into an alley, using the levitation panels to slow my fall as I began to make my way back to Shadow Stalker.

Hopefully Victor would spend too much time looking for me to assist his teammate, allowing the three of us to limit the damage before the Protectorate could arrive. I burst out of the alley, only to clatter headlong into a figure wearing red and black armour.

 _Victor!_

He must have had the same idea as me, attempting to lead me into a futile chase in the maze of back alleys. I managed to get a foot under myself, and I pushed off the ground, putting distance between the two of us. I went to dart back in when something hit me from behind with the force of a truck.

"Artakha!"

"Sorry!"

I was just able to make out two voices, one familiar, the other less so before Victor was on me yet again. I bought my empty hands up in a defensive position, only belatedly realising that the Spear of Weakening had slipped from my fingers at the unexpected assault.

I was unable to brace myself properly, Victor bowling me over as he crashed into me. My hiccupping brain decided to focus on the brick fragments I sent flying as I hit the ground, rather than the way the Nazi straddled me sideways, pointing a different pistol than the one he'd wielded earlier against me, wait-

Clarity returned with shocking swiftness as a new surge of adrenaline flooded through me. The pistol was far larger than the one the Empire cape had used earlier, that one was similar to the ones I'd seen the thugs carry, but this one was larger, meaner.

"It really would be a shame if you turned out to be of correct stock." The man above me mused as he toyed with the weapon. "But the Boss says you have to be made an example of. Don't worry, this won't kill you. Not until Panacea can get here. But it will hurt like hell."

"Consider this a warning."

Panicking, I bucked upwards with my strength, only for it to have no effect. He didn't even budge, the hold he had me in removing most if not all of my leverage. Switching to the Kadin, I tried to use flight to dislodge Victor, but before I could, pain ripped through my abdomen, and I heard myself screaming.

* * *

"-ave to be more careful. What if that had cracked her head, or damaged her brain?"

"I know, I know, you don't have to keep rubbing it in. But she's fine right? She has armour on, and you can heal her!"

I groaned as light and sound assaulted me. I peered blearily up at the two shapes above me, before I blinked repeatedly, the shapes sharpening into the forms of Panacea and Glory Girl. I gave a start, my hand coming up to my face, slumping in relief as I encountered resistance in the form of the Kadin.

"You okay?" I turned to my side as a gauntlet-clad hand came down on my shoulder. I smiled at the concern that wouldn't have been there several months ago. "I'm fine Stalker. Though I could use a burger."

"You'll want to eat double your normal portion size for the next few days."

Both Shadow Stalker and I turned at the interruption, toward the freckled brunette that was the best healer on the East Coast.

"I used your fat stores to plug the wound. It healed up fine, but you'll need to replenish them. Hence the increased appetite. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other patients to see to."

"Wait!"

As the girl turned to leave, I leapt from the bed, catching the back of her cloak as I did so. A bit stunned at the speed of her dismissal, I took a second to adjust before I could organise my thoughts into a coherent sentence.

" _What?_ "

Due to this, the Healer was able to shake herself free of my grasp, and despite her tone, made no further move to leave. I straightened and looked her directly in my eyes, as well as I could fully masked.

"I-I, ah. Thank you." I stuttered, quailing slightly under her glare. For such an unassuming girl, she sure did have a way of making you feel small. "You saved my life. I owe you."

She snorted, a harsh, dismissive sound that almost made me flinch.

"Don't be so dramatic. Even though it was an AP round, the wound itself wasn't anywhere immediately fatal. It was Victor. If he wanted you to die, you'd be dead already. You were in no danger."

"But I would have bled out right? I would have died from that as sure as if the bullet had hit my heart."

Another snort.

"Sure, if you wouldn't have been rushed to hospital. Even if it hadn't been me you would have been fine. It's not like I'm the only one able to heal people."

The last sentence was spoken with something approaching bitterness, but I ignored that to capitalise on the previous part.

"But it wasn't them. It was you. You don't have to be here, you're not a Doctor. If they were the ones to save me, I would be thanking them, but they're not. The one standing in front of me is you. You're the one that saved me. So you're the one I have to thank."

For a moment, I watched as her eyes widened under her hood, before a multitude of emotions flickered across her face before settling on resignation. Just as quickly as it had changed, her face once more changed back to the expressionless visage she'd been displaying the entire time. It was also the point at which I realised that was the first emotion apart from snark she'd shown in the entire conversation.

"Whatever."

With that last parting comment, she wandered off, slowly exiting my line of sight, leaving us with Glory Girl. When a few seconds passed without the golden-haired Parahuman neither leaving nor speaking, I took it upon myself to start the conversation.

"Sooo," I began awkwardly, "was there something you wanted to say?"

"Maybe apologising for throwing the wall would be a good start."

" _What._ "

I turned to my side, my flat response to Shadow Stalker's proclamation almost echoing in the silence.

"Collateral Damage Barbie here threw a wall at Hookwolf. _Obviously,"_ And I could almost _taste_ the sneer in her voice, "she missed. And hit you incidentally. So she's the reason you lost against Victor, the reason you got shot."

"Hey, I'm sorry alright, and it's not like the wall hurt her anyway! How was I supposed to know it'd hit her?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, but how about not throwing a _fucking wall_ around like some sort of giant Frisbee?"

The answering growl keyed me in to the fact that I may have to stop this before it got started. Ignoring the pressure that had been steadily growing behind my eyes, I rose to my full height and spoke, authority filling my voice.

"Look here."

I did not shout, it was a declaration of intent, and both the girls in front of me responded. Shadow Stalker shrank down slightly, immediately responding to the command in my voice. Glory Girl settled down more reluctantly, returning to the floor from where she'd been floating several inches in the air. The pressure behind my eyes dissipated as fast as it had come, allowing me to take a quick look around me before I started talking once more.

"Look, just leave it." I sighed as I located a notebook and pen, ripping out one of the pages before proceeding to jot down a string of numbers on the lined paper. "I may not like it but I'm fine, and the last thing we need right now is a punch-up between the two of you." I finished writing on the piece of paper before I carefully folded it, offering the object to Glory Girl.

"I wasn't joking earlier, I owe your sister. Make sure this makes it to her, and we'll call the entire thing settled. Deal?"

I watched her eyes narrow the slightest amount, obviously searching for any duplicity in my words. A second passed, then two, before she took the paper from me with a cheery 'Deal', before floating off in search of her sister.

"I failed."

Snapping my head around to look at Shadow Stalker, I internally marvelled at the turn the evening was taking. It really was trying to throw everything at me.

"To protect me from being shot?" I confirmed, receiving a subdued nod in return.

"If it wasn't for that bitch-"

"Hey now." I interrupted, "We couldn't have predicted something like that. After all, she's supposed to be on our side. But I'm guessing you're the one that kept the rest of them off of me while I was down?" Another nod. Figures.

"So you didn't fail. I'm still here after all. And honestly, if I had to rely on you as a shield all the time, I'd be a pretty poor excuse for a partner."

The girl at my side let out a small chuckle, before straightening up and replying with the usual fire in her voice that had become so familiar.

"Right."

Smiling at the improvement of her mood, I thought back to all the small moments we'd shared. Being as close as we were, it wasn't necessary for big long speeches to console the other, we knew just what to say in order to lift each other's spirits. Case in point, I was one of the few people that Stalker would show her small moments of weakness to, and I in return, knew exactly how to get her out of her momentary bouts of self-wallowing.

My smile was effectively wiped from my face however, when I spotted the eye-catching red of Assault's suit making for us. I sighed.

"Do you think we can avoid them this time?"

I grinned slightly at Shadow Stalker's query, before sighing and resigning myself to the inevitable. Hopefully I hadn't annoyed the Protectorate too badly with my stunt at the fire.

"Hello Toa!"

* * *

"You'll have to try better than that!"

I let out a whoop of sheer joy as Shadow Stalker and I raced each other across the rooftops heading towards the Boardwalk. It was the first time since the fight at the docks that I'd been out in costume while the sun was still shining. It felt slightly odd seeing the city from this perspective without the veil of darkness that I'd become accustomed to of late. I turned my leap into a roll, bleeding off my momentum as I rocketed across the roofs, Shadow Stalker a constant shadow in my peripheral vision.

It was this, these moments of levity, where I could just let my worries fall away, forget about the way I'd spoken out against the Protectorate, forget about Emma, about the way Dad's eyes tightened infinitesimally every time I came in late. I could just let myself _be._ Nothing but the pounding of my feet, the whistling of the wind in my ears and the burning of my lungs.

Eventually, we came to a stop atop one of the department stores, panting slightly at the exertion.

"That's three for three!" I crowed, still flush with the energy from our race. I turned, and sure enough Shadow Stalker straightened up from her landing crouch as she came to a stop before me.

"Yeah, whatever." Despite her words, I could hear the grin in her voice as she brushed past me to take our customary perch on the lip of the roof, swinging her legs over the side. "I'll beat you next time."

"That's what you said last time." I sang as I flopped down beside my friend, nudging her slightly as I settled beside her. I received no response, but the amusement suffusing the air meant she was most likely sporting a small smile under her helmet. With the both of us catching our breath, we engaged in a small hobby of ours whenever we got to this spot. People watching. It really was surprising how often people failed to look up. And we were a long way up.

Mostly we would try and guess what type of person someone was, or what gang they belonged to. Some were easier than others. We might spot the Wards sometimes doing their rounds, but that wasn't the main spectacle. The everyday people were far more interesting. About ten minutes in, Shadow Stalker nudged me, pointing at a specific person on the street.

"Her, she's a pickpocket."

"Who?" I queried, peering down at the bustling street below.

"About two metres left of the Bakery, blonde hair, grey cardigan."

I followed the directions, quickly finding the girl Stalker had pointed out.

"Found her."

The girl couldn't have been much older than us, her long blonde hair swept forward to obscure her features, hands in the pockets of her jeans and hunched slightly to give her a smaller profile. I followed her progress raptly, watching as she closed in on a café with a number of men in suits sitting either talking on phones or engrossed in their laptops, working outside in the summer sun. The pickpocket slowed her pace, and just as one of the men on their phones turned away from the crowd to better hear the person on the other end of the line, she lifted his wallet from the table, the man not noticing a thing.

"Impressive." I mused, contemplating the girl's skills. The timing was impeccable, and with the man's posture being as it was, the cameras inside the store wouldn't have been able to see anything, his body blocking the entire table from view. "Nice find." I complimented Shadow Stalker, receiving only a grunt in response as the pair of us continued to scan the people below.

I continued to glance back to the pickpocket every now and then, debating with myself weather or not I should intervene. On one hand, she was stealing. On the other, she may have needed the money she gained from stealing to survive. My decision was taken out of my hands when the girl was on her way out of the Boardwalk. Ducking into a side street in order to evade notice, it was only my elevated position that allowed me to see the three men that surrounded the girl. She attempted to flee, only to be cast down by one of the men, Dollar Bills scattering to the ground as she fell.

"Shadow Stalker." I spoke, rising as a van pulled up to the girl and a pair of men in armour exited, wielding large rifles. Pointing to the pickpocket, my shadow stiffened, climbing to her feet as she followed my finger.

"Kidnapping?" Came the enquiry, to which I responded with a sharp nod.

"Take the high route, come in from the south side, I'll separate them, you block up the street and teleport her out. You got the disc to the Boat Graveyard right?" I asked, slipping into my 'combat' mentality the second I saw the girl get surrounded.

A nod.

"Good, take her there. I'll lose them and meet up with you later."

As Shadow Stalker shifted to her breaker state, leaping across the rooftops, I spread my arms, shifting my centre of gravity forward, tipping myself off the roof as I switched to the Kadin. Using the brief drop to increase my speed, I shot off to surprised cries from people on the Boardwalk.

I made it to the pickpocket within a handful of seconds, dropping from the sky to land directly between the girl and the men with the rifles. As soon as I hit the ground, the girl behind me bolted, and I caught her dropping the phone she was holding to her ear to the floor with a crack. Reaching for the Hau, a shield sprang up around me as I straightened, looking each of the men in the eye as they reacted to my presence.

I pulled my spear from the Suva, ignoring the pressure that had settled behind my eyes, feeling the weight of my weapon settle in my hands. I took up my stance as the three original men pulled combat knives from under their jackets, rushing me as one. I let the first two strikes spark off the Hau's shield, and when the third went to pull his attack, I jabbed forward with my spear, the man barely managing to evade the weapon, the blade ripping through his sleeve rather than disabling his arm like I'd hoped.

Changing their tactics, the men charged sequentially, like a wave, forcing me to divert much of my attention to maintaining my shield. The men at the back opened up with their, evidently, silenced rifles, forcing me to look around wildly in order to keep track of all the points of contact. Inevitably, one got through, and I felt someone barrel into me from behind, shattering my concentration and therefore my shield. As I hit the floor, I dropped my spear, using the Calix to get my hands underneath me, calling upon my levitation panels to slow my descent.

Surprised by our sudden change in velocity, the man grappling me loosened his hold slightly, but that slight amount was enough for me to twist myself free of his grasp, kneeing him in the face as he attempted to grasp hold of me once more. Spinning to the floor, I retrieved my spear and bought it round to smack my assailant in the temple, putting him down for the count.

As I rose to my feet, I felt the air buffet me as two of the men ran past me in an attempt to catch up with the fleeing pickpocket. I took a step, intending to pursue when multiple discs of metal impacted the ground in front of the pair, exploding into a wall of jagged ice blocking the entirety of the path. The two men, unable to halt their charge, ran headlong into the wall, being caught instantly by the expanding ice.

That left two.

I turned back to our remaining foes before halting as panic flashed through my mind. Instead of the two men I expected to see, only one man (not counting the driver) stood before us, bringing his rifle to bear.

 _He must have gotten past me while I was dealing with the first guy._

"What's wrong?" Shadow Stalker asked, noting my worry even as she reloaded her disc launchers with an effort of will.

"One got past me." I cringed, realising it was the one with the rifle.

"Go." My partner said, stepping forward in front of me as she rose her Launchers, firing her Kanoka as they arced impossibly into the sky, bearing down on the lone gunman. "Go after her."

Without another word, I called upon the power of the Kadin, launching myself straight up into the air in order to more effectively locate my quarry.

"C'mon, c'mon." I muttered, chewing my lip as I scanned the streets, looking desperately for that shock of blonde. Agonisingly, seconds passed with no sign, before I spotted movement on one of the roofs, the girl bolting across the elevated surface away from an access ladder. Unfortunately, the pursuing kidnapper was right on her heels, just finishing his climb up the ladder.

I put all my strength into wringing as much speed out of the Kadin as I dove, preparing to snatch the girl off the roof as I closed. When I was halfway there, the man finished his climb, quickly dropping to one knee and sighting down the scope as he aimed.

"GET DOWN!" I shrieked, panic suffusing my voice.

The girl was already dropping as I yelled, her body moving out of the line of fire.

It wasn't enough.

The dart hit the girl in the shoulder, the knockout drug making her stumble. The kidnapper re-sighted on me, deeming his target down, but I knew differently. She was no longer conscious, unable to run. But that didn't mean she stopped. Unable to halt her ongoing momentum, she continued forward toward the edge of the roof.

The fabric of her cardigan slipped through my fingers as I barely stopped her from going over the edge. I flipped myself over mid-air, but it was too late. She fell, hitting her head on the wall opposite with a sickening crack, before flipping head-over-heels to land on a dumpster.

Rage clouded my vision, and I switched to the Sanok, throwing my shield as hard as I could. The shield hit the kidnapper, despite his best efforts, knocking him off the edge of the roof before returning to my arm.

I fell the last few meters to the girl below, landing softly next to her and carefully turning her over. I gasped at the amount of blood that gushed from her forehead, fearful of trying to stem the bleeding turning her hair red in case I aggravated her injury.

"Artakha, You got the- oh shit."

"Sophia, oh god, we need to get her to a hospital, Panacea if we can manage it. She's hit her head bad, I don't know, whatdowedowhatdowedo?"

"Nhu… hp'tl. Nuh… hp'tl."

I was cut off from my rambling by the most unlikely source; the girl in my arms who was, miraculously, still conscious.

"No Hospital?" I tried in amazement. "Do you understand what's happened, you'll likely die if you don't get to a-"

I was once again cut off by the girl, trying her best to struggle out of my arms despite her injuries.

"Okay, okay we won't go to a hospital!"

At my words, the blonde settled down, slumping into my arms as though the few seconds of movement has sapped all her strength.

"We won't!? The hell we won't! Taylor, she'll die!"

"I'm thinking!"

We couldn't take her to a hospital at her own behest, if the way she struggled even though she was in such a state, her reason was a good one. If I could get to Panacea, that would solve our problems, but I had no way of knowing if she was at home or somewhere else within the city. In the time it would take to fly to the Dallon's home the injured girl would only get worse. If Panacea wasn't there, well…

I would have to deal with this with the resources I had at my disposal. Unfortunately, none of the Kanohi or Kanoka I had could heal. I mean, I had the remove poison Kanoka and the Mu-

My thoughts ground to a halt as I stumbled on the answer. It was risky, exceedingly risky, but it was my only option.

"We're taking her back to Base. I have a plan."

With a single nod, Shadow Stalker's form wavered before vanishing. I mentally triggered my teleportation panels, the world wavering around me before it sharpened into existence, depositing me on the teleportation pad. The pressure behind my eyes abruptly disappeared as I stepped off the pad, handing blondie off to Shadow Stalker as I passed her.

"Get her on the dining table. Make sure nothing's on it before hand."

After receiving her affirmation, I strode over to the console on the left side of the room, toggling the internal comm to the training room.

"Emma."

As I opened the channel, a sound like waves crashing on rocks met my ears, before stopping suddenly as I spoke.

"Yes Mistress!"

I fought back the urge to sigh at Emma's mode of address. I still hadn't got her to budge on the specifics of our relationship, but she was improving. She spent the majority of her free time training here in the base, so much so that her parents had started to worry even more. It was only the marked improvement in her mood that 'being useful' gave her. She still offloaded her moral quandaries onto me though.

"Listen closely Emma. I need you to go into my workshop and get my newest Kanohi from the bench. I haven't finished grinding the edges down yet, so be careful when you pick it up. It's the one with the grill. When you've done that I need you to bring it to me in the dining room. I need this to be done as quickly as possible okay?"

"Yes Mistress."

As the channel cut off, I moved at a sprint through the corridors of the base to the armoury. I entered, dispelling the Sanok as I moved past the rows of Disc Launchers and Zamor Spheres. Reaching for a rack of spare Kanohi, the ones not connected to my Suva, my outstretched fingers hesitated for a second before I firmed my resolve and plucked the draconic visage of the Mask of Mutation off the wall.

Moving back through the armoury at the speed that I entered it, I soon found myself in the dining room, just in time to watch Sophia lay the girl down on the table. I moved over to her, as she turned to face me, doubtlessly alerted to my presence through the sound of my boots on the floor.

"Ah. I thought you said you would never use that?"

I sighed. It was obvious what she was referring to. The Mask of Mutation was something that I was leery of using. The whole purpose of the mask was, after all, to forcibly alter someone's body. Although it was easier to think of nefarious uses for such a power, theoretically I should be able to use it to fix the damage to Blondie's head.

"I know, but needs must. If I have to use this to save her life, then that's what I'll do. It's the only thing I could think of that would be able to work."

But I wasn't going in blind. I knew that head injuries were dangerous. Depending on what part of her brain she had damaged, she could have any one of a multitude of conditions. Considering it was me that had failed to protect her, I felt somewhat responsible. So I had prepared reinforcements.

"Here Mistress."

I turned at the address, seeing Emma all but running into the room, her red hair flying behind her in her haste, carrying the mask in heavy blacksmith's gloves.

"Thank you Emma." I began, taking the piece of metal from her hands. "Could you bring us some of the remove poison Kanoka from the armoury please? I fear we'll need them for later." I asked, turning to the bleeding girl as I did so. A dining room wasn't exactly sterile after all.

"At once Mistress." Emma spared a single moment to look at the table before turning and running back off down the corridor to the armoury. With the mask in hand, I tossed it to Sophia, the metal glinting as it spun through the air, right into her arms.

"Put that on." I instructed, moving round the table to sit behind Blondie's head, holding my hands an inch from her head as I settled myself. "It's the Mask of Possibilities. Using it you can alter the probability of an event occurring." I explained, watching Sophia remove her Sanok and replace it with the new Kanohi. "I want you to focus on increasing the probability of the event that what I do to heal her will leave her brain in the same condition as it was before her injury got it?"

"Got it."

I nodded.

"You ready?"

Sophia let out a deep breath before she visibly shook herself, leaning forward over the table.

"Yeah, let's do this."

I turned my gaze back toward the bleeding girl in front of me, mentally activating the Kanohi, watching her flesh shift under me.

* * *

I drifted listlessly over the rooftops of the city, not even paying attention to where I was going, stuck in my own thoughts.

The operation, for want of a better term, had seemed to be a success. Her head wound had closed nicely, only the stains on her clothes and the table left to show she had been injured at all. Between the three of us we'd been pretty sure there was no infection, but that was the least of our problems. Given the fact she was still asleep, we had no way of knowing if we had been successful. She was still alive, but that was all we could tell. We had no way of monitoring her brainwaves, or of speeding her recovery besides the Mask of Possibilities which Sophia and I were going to start taking turns using on the comatose girl starting tomorrow. But for tonight we were all too wrung out to even contemplate more treatment for the girl.

Emma had gone home after we were done to spend time with her family at my urging. The sight of a girl injured to that extent, something that quite possibly have happened to her had obviously rattled her. I'd comforted her as best I could, and she seemed better before she headed for home. Sophia on the other hand had immediately crashed on the couch, dead to the world. She looked as tired as I felt, so it was no surprise to me. I was shattered, but my mind was whirling too fast for me to sleep, so I went for a flight, something that usually calmed me down, let me clear my head.

The operation had taken most of the afternoon and evening though, so it was now night-time. And night-time in Brockton Bay meant the gangs were out in force. Especially given the recent tension. I flinched as another burst of gunfire erupted in the distance, sirens wailing as the PRT rushed to the site of yet another fire. It may have been hypocritical of me, but I just floated along, not having the energy to interfere. I'd be as likely to get someone hurt than save them in the state I was in.

It was a testament to how out of it I was that I at first missed the person floating in the air as I reached the Boat Graveyard. They seemed to be sitting on a piece of corrugated steel obviously pilfered from the Graveyard itself, the metal shining with green lines of light as it floated in defiance of many of the laws of physics.

Obviously a Parahuman.

Now more aware, I carefully closed the gap between myself and the hoodie-clad person. As I got closer, coming in from the side as to not startle them, I heard sniffling, and from the relief of their body, I could tell they were female, even if the hoodie obscured most of their features. Pausing for a second, I listened to their sobs, eerily similar to my own after both my mother's death and Emma's betrayal. Seeing something of myself in the crying girl before me, I summoned up the courage to reach out to her.

"Are you alright?"


	8. Forging 1-6

**Urrgghhh. It's been a slog but we're back people!**

 ***sigh***

 **Excluding the heat and one particular Father-Daughter conversation that had me ripping my hair out, the rest of this went okay. Ish.**

 **Anyway, let's get back to it shall we?**

The Masks We Wear Chapter 08

Worm/Bionicle

Forging 1.6

I probably should have expected the response my presence garnered. A block of concrete, I assumed, considering the sound it made as it hit my armour, rocketed out of the darkness, sending me tumbling head over heels in mid-air. I righted myself, tensing as I turned to the floating girl.

I jerked as I finally managed to get a good look at her. Under her hoodie, long blonde hair framed her head, disappearing into the baggy clothing. She was no longer sitting on her platform, instead kneeling on one knee, teeth bared and eyes wide. Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, given her state of dress, she wasn't wearing a mask. This allowed me to see the tears gathering in her cerulean eyes, and the redness of her cheeks as those same tears tracked down her face.

"Fuck off bitch! Can't you mind your own goddamn business?"

Flinching at the vitriol, I forced myself to relax, whilst I caressed the mental switch that governed my teleportation panels for if she attacked. Sighing, I raised my hands in a placating gesture. I really didn't need any more drama tonight.

"Hey, calm." I spoke softly, drawing back slightly so as not to present a threat. "I don't mean you harm. I was just flying by and saw you floating. I just came over to check if everything was alright."

Unfortunately, this did not calm down my companion.

"Yeah? Well what if I don't want you butting into my space? Fucking Heroes! You always have to stick your faces where it doesn't belong! Always sitting up on your ivory towers, never slumming it with the rest of us mortals. Well guess what, _you don't know me_! You don't know my problems! So just fuck off and go help someone who wants it!

Briefly robbed of speech by the girl's tirade, I took a moment to look her over. Despite her words, she was curled in on herself, holding her side oddly. Her left arm hung limply at her side, and numerous cuts and burns marred her clothes. What I had taken to be a quirk of the fabric her hoodie was made out of was actually dust, scattering from her as she moved.

"You're right." I began slowly, a possible course of action forming in my mind. "There are many Heroes that will be unable to understand your circumstances. Fortunately," I smirked, "I am not a Hero, and I also think I see where you are coming from. At least somewhat."

"Oh yeah, you call yourself 'Toa' don't you?" The girl snorted. "Well go on then O high and mighty _Toa_." She sneered, "Tell me how you can understand me then."

Although the words were a challenge, they also gave me an in with the girl. I didn't know why I felt so invested in her, maybe it was the way her hunched form had reminded me oh so painfully of myself, or maybe it was the need to save at least one person, given my poor showing earlier in the afternoon. Straightening up, and looking her directly in the eye, I began to speak;

"Looking back on it, my life started going downhill with the death of my mom. She was the person that held our family together. When she was gone, we just… I cried for a week straight. My dad buried himself in work. We didn't speak to each other for days on end. We just drifted further and further apart, eventually becoming two strangers in the same house. It was like I'd lost both parents instead of just one. He was still alive, sure, but he wasn't _living."_

"Then came the day I Triggered."

 _This,_ I saw, broke through the mask of contempt that had been slowly eroding as I spoke. Yup, if it was one thing I knew would elicit a reaction from the girl, it was the mention of a Trigger Event. Looking up the nature of Trigger Events had been as disturbing as it was difficult. Given that they were the worst moment of your worst day that was to be expected. The best explanation I had been able to find was somewhat mired in poetry, but it fit.

It was the moment where, in your grief, panic, fear, or anger was so great, that to escape your plight, you had to reach for power beyond humanity. It was a situation in which no normal human would return from, so you had to give up the limits of humanity and surpass them.

Still, it was generally agreed that Trigger Events shaped what sort of power you would get. I couldn't for the life of me get the link between 'meteorite', 'metal man' and 'Tinker'.

"It was that day that I knew my dad still loved me," I continued, a small smile on my face under my helmet as I reminisced. "That day I knew I still had someone I could count on when I needed it. I was thankful for that a few weeks later. My best friend suddenly wanted nothing to do with me one day, shoving all our years of friendship back in my face like it meant nothing."

The old anger flared up again, but I forced it under with the ease of long practice. Emma was different now. We were moving on.

"She spread rumours about me, making me the outcast, the pariah. She turned every _single_ secret against me. Nothing was inviolate. I was alone, with no-one to help me. Until I told my dad. Without him, I'd not be where I am now. He called up my friend's father, and resolved the situation."

"Does this have a point?" The girl interrupted, her voice cutting through the night.

"Things may be different now, but that still doesn't change the fact that it happened." I spoke with a small grain of annoyance. "I'd lost my mom, effectively lost my dad as well, and was betrayed by one I called a sister. The only reason I'm as well adjusted now as I am is that someone held out a hand in support."

I fell silent as I let the floating girl parse through my words. If I pushed too far, I risked alienating her. I didn't want that. I wanted to get my sincerity across, so I floated there, saying nothing, waiting for her to make the first move.

"Why are you telling me this?"

When she finally did speak, it was with none of the anger or confidence she had before. Instead, she spoke in a strangled whisper, something I could barely hear. I was surprised how easily she'd capitulated, but I wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Because I see myself in you." I said bluntly. This wasn't the time for beating around the bush. It wouldn't take her long to get her ego back. If I was to help her, I had to do it now, while she'd let me. "Let me be that hand, so I can help you as I was."

"Because you're oh so selfless."

"Hardly." I snorted, "I just don't want to fail two people in one day."

The silence returned as she seemed to mull it over, seemingly fighting with herself over something as she fisted her one good hand in the fabric of her hoodie, kneading it.

"When I triggered, my family all but disowned me. When the news that I had powers spread through our… community, someone came to them with promises of money and status. I. Was. Their. _Daughter."_ She hissed, anger bleeding through her words for a moment. "And they did nothing." She continued in a calmer tone. "They all but _sold_ me to someone they'd never even met, all for ' _glory of the cause'._ And when I come here, my cousin, who by the way was the one who told everyone I had powers, doesn't even come to say hello! She just speaks to me like I'm another of that man's employees!"

"And then Lung came."

I sucked in a sharp breath. Everyone who lived in the city knew of Lung. The leader of the ABB, the Rage-Dragon. Suddenly the burns on her clothing made more sense.

"He was fighting the Empire. Hookwolf, Stormtiger, Purity, Cricket. He didn't care about anything in his way. He just went through the buildings as if they weren't there. My 'Guardians' died in the fire. The only way I was able to escape was due to my power. And then, even though my phone somehow still works, do I get anyone looking for me, or even calling me when they know I can't call _them_ , to ask if I'm okay, if I even survived? NO! For Two days! _Two days!_ They can all just go… FUCK THEMSELVES!"

Tugging said phone out of her ruined hoodie, she threw the device through the air with a yell of exertion, the slim metal case revolving end over end until it landed in the bay with a splash, sinking to the bottom.

"So while you might not have a stick up your ass, or a throne on that ivory tower, you can't help me! Because the only one who cares for me is me! Myself! And I'm not going back!"

Emotions roiling, I stared for a while before an idea surfaced in my head. A stupid, poorly-thought-out idea, but I was tired and exhausted. The drama of the past few minutes hadn't helped at all.

"Look." I sighed. "We're both tired, and this isn't going anywhere. Why don't you come back to the base for tonight, you can eat warm food and sleep in a bed rather than on the streets. No tricks, I won't ask for anything back. You can even leave after if you want. Just for the night."

I saw her eyes light up at the mention of food. If she really had been on the streets for two days, she had to be getting hungry. She glanced down at my hands, which I only then realised that I'd forgotten to re-equip my gauntlets after I took them off to clean them of blood. Before I could summon them, she looked me straight in the eye, her shoulders set.

"No tricks?" She asked guardedly, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"No tricks."

"And you'll let me leave after."

"If that's what you want."

…

"Fine." She snapped mulishly, in an attempt to cover her weakness. "Take me to your base or whatever."

I smiled at her acceptance. _At least something went right today._ I floated toward her, holding out my hand wordlessly, and as she took it, we both disappeared.

* * *

I awoke to the sound of shouting.

Reflexively summoning my armour, I barrelled through the hallway to the guest room where I'd put my acquaintance. Getting closer, I managed to pick out one of the voices as Sophia. I'd put a note for her so she would keep her helmet on when she woke up, and the other girl's room couldn't be opened from the inside, so it wasn't like she'd seen Sophia unmasked or anything, so what was the issue?

Kicking up and onto the wall instead of slowing down, I rounded the corner with little loss of momentum. A few meters in front of me I could see the arguing pair, the blonde girl red in the face, fists clenched at her side, with a desk, plate and assorted cutlery orbiting the air around her. Sophia on the other hand, was coiled like a spring, muscles tensed and ready to pounce.

She was also, rather worryingly, pointing a loaded Disc Launcher at the blonde girl.

"No! Wait!"

My yell went unheeded, Sophia firing, the Launcher bucking from the recoil. Surprisingly, her target made no move to defend herself, or any attempt to dodge the attack.

The reason for this was evident a moment later, when the blonde girl disappeared, obviously being hit by a teleportation Kanoka. I breathed a sigh of relief and dismissed my armour, the flash of light fading away to reveal my pyjamas as I stepped toward Sophia.

"What was that all about?"

My question was met with a deadpan stare, something that was confirmed when Sophia dismissed her helmet, leaving her hair to swing free. She opened her mouth to speak, giving a few false starts before she finally managed to compose a sentence.

""Why did… you should have… you didn't know she was a Nazi did you?"

The question rocked me back on my heels, my mind spinning as I digested the new information. Things that I hadn't even considered in my bone-tired state yesterday came flashing back. Her comment of a _'community'._ Her looking at my hands, my _skin_ before she decided to come with me. Her vehemence directed toward Heroes.

I sighed, my hand going up to rub my forehead as I realised what had likely happened.

"Oh God Sophia, I'm so sorry." I reached out to place one hand on her shoulder. She wasn't the most touchy-feely of girls, and wouldn't appreciate a hug. This was as far as I could go to show her comfort. "I had no idea." I finished lamely.

Sophia shuffled a little under my gaze, a brief hint of redness touching her cheeks as she looked away.

"It's okay." She huffed, looking me in the eyes after a moment, "It wasn't like she was wearing their flag or anything. She was even nice about it. She said I was nice for a … for a …"

She shook herself, unclenching her fists and jaw as she forced away her anger.

"I know you wouldn't have done it on purpose. You're a fucking bleeding heart like that." She grinned, before changing her expression to something more serious. "Anyway, I meant to talk to you about something I noticed yesterday."

"Sure." I nodded, gesturing down the hallway as I pushed the thoughts of the Nazi out of my mind. "Lead on."

Together we walked to the area that served as the kitchen, Sophia leaning against the fridge as I perched on one of the bar stools that ran round the edge of the Breakfast Bar. Leaning my chin on my palms, I swept my attention over to Sophia as she turned to face me.

"What did you want to talk about?" I began slightly apprehensively.

It wasn't like Sophia to act like this. If I didn't know better, I would say she were nervous, scared even. As it was she was worried, her white-knuckled grip on the sleeve of her shirt was a dead giveaway of that.

"When we were out yesterday, during the fight with the kidnappers and the race before it, I noticed something… _off_ about my power. Something different." She spoke slowly, hesitantly, as if in voicing her concerns, what she was saying would become fact.

I jerked up off the table, eyes wide as I processed the information.

"Y-your power _changed?"_ I confirmed, my voice shaking as the ramifications of such a thing happening started to fully settle in. "How?"

"Well, I only noticed it yesterday, since that's the first time I've gone out in daylight in a while. I found it harder to change into my Breaker state. When I went out the night before though, I was fine, and again this morning."

"Huh. It's not time based, or you'd still have issues today… Wait! You were inside? So what, daylight?" I asked incredulously, "You've developed an allergy to sunlight?"

"NO! I just, err, I can still _change_ , but it's harder. Not by much, but noticeable enough."

"Well that's something at least. It doesn't strain you?"

"No, but that's not all. When you left to chase after the girl, that last guy threw me through the front of the car. And. Nothing. Happened."

"…"

"The _front_ of the car."

"Riiight."

She sighed, crossing her arms across her chest when I obviously didn't get her point.

"The front of the car. Where the _battery_ is"

Oh _hell._

"Electricity." I breathed. "And it did nothing?"

"Not a jolt. I didn't feel a thing. I didn't even realised what had happened until he vaulted over the thing to get at me."

"This, this is…"

I trailed off as I tried to consider possible consequences of someone's power changing. This had never happened before. When people talked about a Parahuman getting stronger it was always in the use of the power. The power _itself_ didn't change, its user just learned to use it more effectively. Things like this just didn't happen. No-one knew what effects such a change could have on the…

"Have you noticed anything else?" I gasped, suddenly thinking of the location of the Corona. If this was doing something to her brain, then I wouldn't know what I could do. Everyone knew Panacea couldn't affect brains.

"Well…" She hedged, "I have been feeling a lot calmer recently."

I blinked.

"Calmer?" I parroted, "What do you call that screaming match I woke up to?"

She flinched, raising her hands to tug at her hair as she tried to find the words to explain.

"Not like that. Yes I still get annoyed, it's not like my emotions are dulled or anything, I steel feel anger, hate, sadness, all those emotions. Just, well, like Sabrina-"

"Sabrina?"

"Sabrina the Teenage Nazi." She elaborated with a smirk, continuing past my interruption.

"With her, I got annoyed, angry. But my first thought wasn't to shoot her in the face."

"I saw you."

"No, she asked for it. Literally!" She clarified at my raised eyebrow. "She wanted to leave, so I made her. Anyway, there was quite a bit you missed before. A month ago, I would have gone 'fuck it' and shot her by that point."

"So you're less prone to, not disproportionate response, but escalation maybe?" I ventured, relaxing as my worst fears seemed to be unfounded. I received nothing more than a shrug and a 'maybe' in response, prompting me to roll my eyes and sum up the conversation myself.

"Right. So you've suddenly become allergic to sunlight, you've gotten rid of your weakness to electricity and you're calmer than usual. Looks like we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I'm not exactly a Professor in Parahuman Studies."

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Although." I began, struggling to keep mirth from my voice, "I'll have to keep an eye on you. I won't have you eyeing my neck."

A hint of red touched Sophia's cheeks before she followed my train of thought and her eyes narrowed.

"Taylor, NO."

Undaunted, I continued my teasing, my lips curling at the sides as I spoke.

"After all, you may be my friend, but I like my blood inside my body thanks."

"I AM NOT BECOMING A VAMPIRE!"

I threw myself off my stool, my laughter following me down as an apple soared over my head, smashing against the wall behind me.

* * *

I ducked as the tendril of water whipped through the air over my head, droplets scattering off the whole from the speed of its passing. Throwing myself to the side, I dodged a hail of needles, the projectiles exploding from the force of their impact as they struck the floor behind me, the drops of water swirling upwards into another attack before I'd even regained my feet. I expanded my shield to protect myself from the follow-up attack, the force of it rocking me back on my heels, though my stance remained firm.

The tendril from before came in again, low this time, in an attempt to sweep me off my feet. I jumped, corkscrewing my body through a dizzying spin with the help of the Calix, avoiding the second, smaller tendril that attempted to clothesline me as I dodged the first, more obvious attack. Landing in a crouch, I summoned a spear, grasping it in both hands as I charged.

Vast walls of water sprung up on either side of me as I charged, pressing in toward me in an attempt to crush me between the two. Veering to my right, I lashed out with my spear, the blade sinking into the construct with a surprising amount of resistance. At the point of contact, ice bloomed outward, freezing the wall I ran alongside and slowing the advance of the wall considerably.

Tapping into my levitation panels, I launched myself up the wall, freezing sections of it as I ascended, preventing myself from becoming overwhelmed. Vaulting up and over the wall, I called upon the power of my Hau as there was a resounding crash beside me, the other water wall making contact with its frozen counterpart, the force shattering the flash-frozen water with ease, pelting my shield with shrapnel.

Under the cover of the icy explosion, I forged ahead, making for the blue-armoured figure standing at the other end of the arena. My opponent made a grasping gesture, as though reeling a rope back in and I pulled on the Calix as my senses screamed at me. Throwing myself into a backflip, I barely missed the fist of water as it crashed into my previous position.

What I didn't manage to avoid however, was the hail of ice shards that knocked me out of the air, sending me tumbling onto the ground below.

Fortunately, the ice hadn't hit me with enough force to wind me, just enough to send me flying. Forgoing regaining my feet, I abandoned my spear, rolling sideways as another wave swept in around me, attempting to capture me within its embrace.

Scrambling to my feet, I closed the distance once more, weaving around the ribbons of liquid that attempted to trip me, or send me flying. In an attempt to divert my opponent's attention, I spun into a crouch, shield enlarging as I turned, using the Sanok, and threw the disc of metal at the water manipulator.

It didn't work as well as I'd hoped.

Instead of dodging the projectile, or knocking it aside so it could return to me, my shield was encased in a globe of water, absorbing all its momentum and rendering it unable to return to my side. I sighed at the move, my opponent did know my fighting style, after all.

Still, the act took up a second of their attention, attention that wasn't on me.

Using that moment, I moved in using my enhanced speed, ducking under the globe of water encasing my shield. Straightening up, I chambered my fist, ready to lash out, only to see my opponent's arm crossed over their chest, a whip of water encircling their forearm, in the process of sweeping it across themselves.

 _Shit._

I had no time to switch to the Calix or even the Hau in order to dodge the attack. Desperately trusting in my speed panels once more, I dug my heels in, turning my body to the side in an effort to avoid the strike.

It wasn't enough.

Instead of hitting me head on, the whip extending from the figure's arm hit me on my left shoulder, the blow that should have taken me out of the fight sending me tumbling uncontrollably back down the arena.

Halting my flight by tapping into the Kadin, I decelerated and set myself back down on the ground in time to see a wave at least twenty feet high bearing down on me. I was too far away from my spear to be able to freeze the water, and if I tried to go around it I would too easily be caught. Blocking it _could_ be a possibility, but would more than likely mean I would be too drained to defend against the follow-up attack.

So, I couldn't stop it, couldn't block it and going around was out of the question too. That meant my only course of action was to go _through._

The Kakama appeared on my face as I took a single step forward, toward the wave seeking to sweep me away. I took a second step, a third.

The world _blurred._

Hitting a body of water at sufficient velocity has the same result as hitting concrete. It isn't exactly conducive to your long-term health. The trick was to break the surface tension of the water before you hit it, to prevent yourself from regretting your recent life decisions.

As such, as the world blurred around me, I imitated my opponent in sweeping my arm across my body with all my strength. Normally this wouldn't have done much, but I was currently moving at Kakama-enhanced speeds. The speed of my limb's movement displaced the air in front of me, buffeting outwards and breaking the surface tension of the wave a split second before I hit it, the remainder of the impact being taken by my armour.

I burst out of the other side of the wave in an explosion of white water, the speed of my passing causing the wave to erupt with the pressure I had just exerted upon it. Switching to the Pakari, I took three more steps, ending up inside my opponent's guard.

I raised a fist, and prepared to end the fight.

* * *

"The double tendril attack was good, I didn't even see the second one until right before I jumped. You may want to lay off the wide-scale attacks a bit though. What you managed to pull off was impressive, but I was able to out-manoeuvre them each time. When you have teammates, that'll be a good herding strategy, but in solo confrontations, it seems to tax you too heavily, so try to limit them if you can. The way you used the ice was great though, I didn't even know you could control that!"

The red-haired girl listening to my points ducked her head, letting her shoulder-length hair obscure her face as heat touched her cheeks. Frantically scribbling down my advice, she flipped her notepad over to a new page, the scrabbling of pen on paper the only noise between us.

"Ah… it's just frozen water."

There was a pause while she looked for my permission to speak. While she had been improving, Emma still had an almost crippling sense of self-doubt when not acting in her role as my servant. Luckily, she only did the speech-pause-thing when in my presence. It would have been awkward otherwise. I likened it to her not wanting to speak out of turn. During times when I was commanding enough for her to slip into obedience mode like she had done with the Pickpocket Incident, she was calmer, more at ease. She knew where her place in the world was, and knew she was doing the Right Thing.

At least from her point of view.

Although it still terrified me on a deep level that Emma now took my words as gospel, I'd come to terms with the arrangement. Somewhat. I now took more care when I spoke when she was around, watching my words and tone for anything that could be detrimental. The fact that she still had a tendency to foist moral quandaries off on me was something I was trying to work on.

"But it's harder to control right?"

Another nod.

"So you should be proud. You've come a long way in a short time, and you were fighting with a handicap."

"Thank you Mistress."

Whilst I continually put off 'linking' Emma to my work, citing incomplete aspects of the armour, the truth was I just couldn't trust her that far yet. It wasn't as if I didn't trust the girl herself, the events of the past few weeks had proven just how far she'd go for me. It was the fact she was still broken. It wasn't out of the question to think that she may make a mistake, or be tricked into something that would hurt me, and by extension, her. I couldn't let her come on patrol with us until I was absolutely certain she wouldn't be a danger to either herself, or others.

"But that's enough about that, we'll talk about training more tomorrow. Your parents took you to the mall right, what did you get while you were out?"

This had been one of the more tricky issues to get over. With both her initial attack and her desire to be subordinate to me, Emma's sense of style changed drastically, almost overnight. Where she once was the centre of attention, making sure she had all the 'in season' must-haves, now she wore clothes that caused her to blend into the background, eschewing fashion sense for practicality. The only colour we could get her to wear with any consistency was darker shades of blue. It was almost as if we had traded wardrobes, me with my hoodies and loose jeans, and her with her blouses and boot-fits. I couldn't pull off Emma's old style and had no intention to attempt the feat. But my training regime had done wonders for my self-confidence, and I was starting to feel comfortable wearing more colourful clothing again.

And so I sat, smiling at the simple act of listening to Emma hesitantly talk about the multi-pocketed trousers she'd found at the outdoors store, remembering when we used to sit in her room, and do this same act, what felt like a lifetime ago.

* * *

"I'm Home!"

"Welcome home Dad!"

My call sounded throughout the house as I bounded down the stairs, the shrunken form of my Electro-Chute Spear bouncing on my belt as I bounded down the stairs. Dad shrugged his coat off, hanging it on a hook that adorned one side of the hallway. Reaching him, I embraced him, feeling his arms wrap around me as I relaxed into him.

"So how was your day?"

"Better thanks." I grinned up at him as I pulled back, watching the lines around his eyes smooth as he relaxed in relief. I'd not come home yesterday, for obvious reasons, something Dad didn't like, even though he understood. I tried to be home at respectable times, the closeness between Dad and me was something I didn't want to lose. Especially considering what I'd had to go through to get it.

"You never did explain why you stayed out. What happened?"

At Dad's gentle prompting, I explained the events of the last twenty-four hours, from the end of our patrol and the pickpocket, to my conversation with Emma just an hour ago. By the end, I felt drained, the weight of events settling on my shoulders as I had a moment to just sit and let them roll over me.

"You did what you could Taylor." Dad comforted, his arm around me, pulling me into a hug. He smelled of coffee and ink, with just a hint of machine oil sea salt. The Docks. "You did the best you could with the restrictions you had, using the tools that were available. That girl owes her life to you."

"But will she thank me?"

He sighed.

"Taylor, you can't think about what ifs and maybes. She. Is. Alive."

"But she'll most likely have brain damage."

In contrast to my dad's words, which were confident and sharp, mine were muffled by the fabric of his shirt as I buried my face in it, trying not to cry.

Another sigh.

"Look, Taylor, you're using that Mask of Probabilities to heal her right?"

"Possibilities."

"Mask of Possibilities, right. So you're doing everything in your power to help. Besides, it was her decision not to go to a hospital right?"

I nodded.

"So until you know, there's nothing you can do that you're not already doing. Look, why don't we talk about something different huh?"

I peeked out from underneath his arm, sniffling a couple of times as I fought against my emotions, wiping the unshed tears from my eyes as I straightened up. I nodded.

"Okay. So, apart from the lightsaber there, have you made anything else new that isn't armour or a mask?"

"Not really. I mean, I have ideas for stuff, but everything else seems more important right now. I mean, a ten foot suit of exo-armour seems a bit frivolous when you have someone bleeding out on your dining room table. Sorry."

I apologised, flinching at Dad's look as I continued;

"But seriously, there's just _so much_. I mean, most of it I can't even build yet, but there's a few things I could start, but then something inevitably comes up and makes me reprioritise! I just can't manage it!"

"Then don't try to."

"Huh?"

"Don't try to manage it. Taylor, you're going to get far too stressed at this rate. You have to face the fact that although you can do so many things, predicting the future isn't one of them. Build what you want. You have to have _some_ fun with your powers Taylor, you can't be serious _all_ the time. Build what you want, then when something more important comes up, shelve it until the necessary things are out of the way, and then continue it. I'm proud of you, incredibly proud. But that doesn't mean you should keep pushing yourself until you break. Learn to loosen up a bit. If only for my sake."

I sighed, rolling my eyes good-naturedly at my dad, huffing as he squeezed me against his side.

"Fine, fine!" I giggled as a false put-upon look flashed across Dad's face for a second, the good natured grin returning a second later. "There's several interesting things that aren't weapons that I have a few ideas for. I'll look at the designs later."

"Why does that not fill me with confidence?"

My only reply was a grin that was just a bit too wide.

* * *

I sat, bowed over the bed in which the blonde pickpocket lay, the only sign of life the soft rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. The Mask of Possibilities was the only part of my armour I wore, my continued efforts at healing the injured girl in front of me necessitating my vigil.

My concentration was broken by the sound of boots stomping into the room. Letting the power of the Kanohi slip through my fingers, I took a breath before I turned to greet my interrupter.

"Nice patrol Sophia?"

"Eh, depends on your definition of 'nice'."

Sophia stood with a towel on her shoulder and a glass of water in her hand. We'd agreed that as the two of us were the only ones able to use Kanohi, we would trade off on using the mask's power on the girl.

"What happened now?" I sighed, working the mask off my helmet and dispelling the final piece of armour.

"I met Sabrina again."

"Sabrina?" I echoed, before remembering the less than flattering title Sophia had bestowed on the telekinetic we'd harboured for the night. "Oh, her. You didn't get into a fight did you?" I queried.

Sophia snorted at my question, moving over to the chair next to me and taking the Mask of Possibilities from the table.

"No. Saved her from a bunch of druggies though. Like they own the street." The last part was muttered, likely something I wasn't supposed to hear. I summarily ignored it. "Gave her some of the food though. Not that she deserved it."

"Sophia." I was surprised. I wouldn't have thought Sophia capable of such kindness to someone who'd insulted her so badly. "That was kind of you."

"Eh, you wouldn't like to leave her out there. Only did what you'd want."

I sighed despite myself.

"Well, at least she won't go hungry." I mused to myself, pulling my chair out of the way so Sophia could shuffle herself closer to the bed.

"You sure you'll be okay for the night?" I asked, "You did just come in off your patrol after all."

"I'll be fine. I've spent longer awake before. This is no problem for me."

"Right, right. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then."

I let the door swing shut behind me as the tell-tale flash of teleportation heralded Sophia's effort of healing our guest.

Sometimes my life really was complicated.


	9. Forging 1-7

The Masks We Wear Chapter 09

Worm/Bionicle

Forging 1.7

Several weeks passed.

Sophia came across the telekinetic more than once, although to the best of my knowledge they only ended up fighting each other two of those times. If they fought more often than that, Sophia didn't say. As long as they didn't seriously hurt each other, or anyone else, I decided to let them sort out their differences themselves. Me stepping in would only be seen as taking a side, something that never ended well.

I continued my training with Paul, slowly getting faster, stronger, more unpredictable. Nowadays, I was able to give as good as I got, without Paul having to hold back. Although I came home covered in bruises, they were fewer than the ones I had when I started. My arms and legs burned with the exertion, the strain causing my limbs to turn to jelly. But it was all worth it. Every moment I spent on my back on the mat was another moment I wasn't on my back staring into the eyes of someone who wanted to kill me. Every dirty trick I fell to was one I would be prepared for. And slowly, I improved.

I took Dad's words to heart, searching my mind for plans that didn't include armour or weapons. And a whole world opened up to me. My workshop now resembled a junkyard, sheets of metal, frayed wires and half-built structures lying everywhere. He was right. Tinkering with things that weren't life or death relaxed me. It was fun.

Monitoring Sophia's change in powerset produced no alarming results beyond which we'd already observed. She was still slightly prickly, but her previously volatile temper and adrenaline-junkie attitude had subsided somewhat, leaving a more considerate attitude behind. It didn't stop her from looking up to me though. I guess that would have been too much to ask.

Emma was also doing well, for her new state. All of my subtle attempts to jolt her from her worldview had done less than nothing. Between watching my words for anything that could be misinterpreted and not wanting to cause a relapse, I couldn't really do much. She seemed happy though, and more relaxed. I decided to take what I could and stopped pushing.

We continued our practice of using the Mask of Possibilities in an attempt to heal our guest. She refused to show any signs of recovery. She remained the same as ever, calm, serene in sleep, the only sign of life the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Of course, this state only lasted until the day she did decide to wake up.

* * *

I yanked the cable out of the pile of spare parts behind me, dropping down to my hands and knees to crawl into the husk of my newest project. Feeding the cable through a thin pipe, I looped it around a heat diffuser, taking care to not touch the metal as I connected one end up to the engine. Taking the other, I fed it down thorough the body of the machine, brushing past other cables and wires as I manoeuvred it past the pneumatic intakes, connecting it up to the hydraulics.

"MISTRESS!"

The shout was so unexpected it caused me to jerk. My head shot up, cracking into the metal above me. I fell back with a yelp, crashing through the pile of parts beside me as I writhed for a moment in pain.

"Ah… I'm sorry Mistress!"

I sighed, blinking tears of pain from my eyes as I turned to mitigate the damage. As I expected, Emma was on the verge of tears, the fact that her actions had caused me pain devastating her. I stood, picking my way across the junk-strewn floor as I made my way to her.

"Emma, I'm fine." I consoled with a hand on her shoulder, gently squeezing to get my sincerity across. "There's no problem. See, I'm okay. Now what did you want to tell me?"

She sniffled once, calming as the softness of my voice and my touch proved I wasn't annoyed with her.

"Oh… Sophia says the blonde girl's waking up. She sent me to get you."

My eyes widened.

"She's awake?" I queried, staggering slightly at the news.

"Not yet. She will be soon though."

"Right." I nodded, already moving. "Emma, get your helmet and two glasses of water. Bring them to her room. You're the only one of us that can restrain her easily if she panics, and we don't want her hurting herself further."

"Yes Mistress."

As Emma shot off toward the armoury, I turned the other way, striding down the corridor past the kitchen to the sleeping quarters, my helmet flashing onto my head as I moved. As I opened the door to the girl's room, I saw Sophia, helmet already on, standing beside the bed instead of sitting at the side, like usual. The second thing I noticed was the small twitches and groans coming from our erstwhile guest. They were the motions of someone going through a disturbed sleep, the motions more than we'd had from her for a month.

"How long?"

"About three minutes now."

My question was immediately answered by the girl at my side, moving back slightly to allow me to pass her and lay my fingers gently on her neck to check for her pulse. At this closer distance, I could see the way her eyes rolled behind her eyelids, reminiscent of REM sleep.

"Her pulse is strong." I muttered, more to myself than Sophia. "How long do you think it'll be until she wakes up?" I asked.

"No idea." Sophia shrugged from behind me. "I'm no doctor, but if anything I'll bet soon. She's probably dreaming about the chase. Something'll shock her enough she wakes up."

"Great." I muttered. "So the last thing she'll remember is being chased by kidnappers, then she'll wake up somewhere she hasn't seen before, with three masked people standing over her."

…

"Fucking Fantastic."

My curse was cut off as Emma opened the door behind me, helmet on and a pair of glasses clutched in her hands.

"Thanks Emma." I praised, the girl straightening at my voice. "Could you just hand one here and leave the other on the desk? Thanks."

I retrieved the glass from my friend and turned back to Sophia to ask another question as the door clicked shut. Before I could open my mouth, she nudged me in the ribs, carefully gesturing toward the bed, where the girl had stopped moving.

I gulped slightly, no-one moving a muscle.

The silence continued for a few more heartbeats before the girl's green eyes drifted open, her head turning to peer directly at me. As much as I felt pinned by her gaze, I forced myself to move, moving slowly across the room to the empty chair beside the bed.

"Hey. Hi, I'm Artakha." I began, floundering for words. As much as I'd hoped she'd wake up, I'd not actually thought of what to say when she did. That was coming back to bite me now.

"We, that is Shadow Stalker and I, saw you get cornered by some men on the Boardwalk. You ran, and they chased you, but you took a bad fall, and hit your head. We drove them off, but you didn't want to go to a hospital, so we bought you back to our base. We healed you as best we could and you've been her for a few weeks."

Despite my words, or maybe because of them, mounting panic began to cloud the girl's eyes as she stared at me. Suddenly whipping her head to the side, she changed her gaze to Sophia, and the panic immediately turned to horror. Scrambling, she thrust the covers off of herself and lunged out of bed, only to crumple when her legs wouldn't take her weight.

Being the closest, I was able to catch her as she fell, bringing her in close to my body as I took her weight. I had just about managed to pull her back up to the bed when she started writhing in my arms.

"Hey!"

Surprised by the girl in my arms doing her best impression of a fish, I quickly lost my grip, the girl falling backwards onto the bed and scuttling backwards to the wall, crouching there like a cornered animal. Holding my hand out behind me, I silently urged Emma and Sophia back, to the other side of the room. Interestingly enough, once the blonde's frantically darting eyes caught sight of Emma, they latched onto her like a drowning man to a buoy. They stayed there for a few seconds, during which she seemed to relax. Her muscles uncoiling. Recognising this, I made a decision.

"Blue." I spoke, tapping Emma's thigh to indicate I was addressing her, "Slowly go to the chair, move it to the desk and sit down. Give her the water."

"Yes Mistress."

I winced despite myself at the name, eliciting a twitch of the lips from the blonde on the other side of the room. The last thing I needed was more people knowing someone called me 'Mistress'.

"Stalker, sit down on the floor." I instructed calmly, not turning my gaze from the girl on the bed.

"What! Why do I-"

" _Stalker."_

With muted grumbling, Sophia settled herself down next to me on the floor, leaving our guest sitting above us. For whatever reason, she'd panicked when she saw Sophia and myself. Whether it was because we reminded her of the chase or something else, I didn't know. Whatever the reason, I was hoping that the elevated position in regards to us would give her more perceived power over the situation, calming her somewhat. She was fine with Emma though, so I had move the person she was comfortable with closer to her, not too close to worry her, but close enough to help her if she needed it.

Emma slowly reached over with a hand, passing the glass full of water over. The blonde reached out a pair of trembling hands, grasping the glass with one hand, the other supporting it from underneath. She took quick sips, her eyes roving round the room, ignoring the sitting forms of Sophia and myself, but always returning to Emma. She drained the glass halfway, handing the glass back to Emma, I judged it appropriate to speak up once more.

"I'm sorry if we scared you." I began tentatively, speaking softly as to not scare her. The second I opened my mouth, her eyes locked back onto me with a laser-like intensity, the emerald gaze locked once more on me. "I was just trying to tell you what had happened in case you didn't re…mem…ber…"

I trailed off as a horrifying possibility made itself known. She had hit her head after all.

Steeling myself, I asked the question;

"Do…do you understand me? Can you understand what I'm saying?"

The girl snorted, rolling her eyes and opened her mouth to speak.

All that came out was a strangled croak.

Her eyes widened in shock, hands jumping up to grasp at her throat as she started hyperventilating.

"Woah, hey!"

I smoothly crossed the distance between us, crouching down at the edge of the bed to keep myself below her. Reaching out, I gently stroked her knee in an effort to calm the panicking girl.

"It's okay. Shhhh. You're okay."

A minute passed, during which the girl rocked back on her haunches, one hand clutched to her throat, eyes wide.

"Stalker." I said quietly, "Could you go to the kitchen and get the pad and pen we use for the grocery list of the fridge please?"

The sound of shuffling reached my ears as Sophia stood, followed by the soft click of the door opening and closing. Not moving, I continued to soothe the girl as she slowly calmed down, her breaths becoming longer and deeper, as opposed to the short and sharp breaths of moments ago.

"Hey. You still with us?" I asked softly, my words causing her attention to once more fix on me. "Now I'm fairly sure as to the answer, but are you able to understand what I'm saying?"

A nod.

"Good." I breathed out a sigh of relief. "That's good. You took a nasty fall and hit your head. I was worried what the after-effects may be since you wouldn't let us take you to the hospital."

I shifted my balance, putting my knees beneath me to take my weight as I continued to look the girl in the eye.

"I'm going to ask you a few questions, I'm also going to get my phone out. Is that okay with you?"

Two nods.

"Right." Slowly, as to not spook the blonde, I retrieved my phone from my pocket. "Are you having any problems focusing on things at different distances?" I asked, "I need to make sure your vision isn't impaired."

I waited a few moments, watching as she looked round the room, focusing on various objects, before she shook her head.

"Good. Okay, next I'm going to use a light to judge your pupil reaction. Ready?" Another nod. "Great. Okay then."

Turning the screen's brightness up to full, I asked the girl to cover her left eye before waving the phone over her face. Now, I wasn't a doctor, but the fact the pupil shrunk quickly and then started to enlarge after the phone had been taken away seemed like a good omen, one that was repeated on the other side.

Just after I'd thanked the girl, Sophia entered the room, pad and pen in hand. I thanked Sophia, before flicking through the pad to a previous list.

"Any issues with long term memory? Can you remember your name, the names of your parents?"

Two nods.

"Do you remember the penultimate letter of my name?"

A pause.

This was more of a test of her ability to think than anything else. It first included recognising the word 'penultimate', then remembering my name. Association and short-term memory. Next was her remembering the alphabet, or at least the first few letters. Retrieval of information. Then she had to remember, or count through the letters to get to 'H'. Without a proper method to check for any sort of damage, this was the best I could do at such short notice.

She held up eight fingers.

"Good. That's good."

Breathing out a sigh of relief, I handed the pad and pen over to the girl, watching her take the pad in trembling hands.

"Here." I gestured, keeping a smile on my face as I looked up at her. "Before I do anything else though, can you point to the milk on the pad? I want to know if-"

A roll of her eyes and the pad was thrust into my face, her index finger clearly pointing out the correct word.

"Oh. Okay then." I floundered. I hadn't dared hope that she would be this well-adjusted after her accident. Brain damage wasn't something you just shrugged off, but she seemed fine. Apart from not being able to speak that is.

"So, would you be able to tell us your name?" I ventured.

A moment of thought, then the girl took the pen in her hand, and carefully, purposefully, fighting the trembling in her limbs, wrote four letters on the next page.

' _Lisa'._

I smiled. "Hello Lisa." Another point for the checklist. She could write, was able to make sense of the letters, and retained enough fine-motor control to accomplish the act.

"Nice to meet you." I continued, thankful to have something else to call her beyond ' _the blonde'_ or ' _the girl'_. A small smirk pulled at the edge of her lips, but I disregarded it to continue my questioning.

"So, later we'll check you again, see if we can't figure out what's up with your voice. If we can't find anything, maybe we can get Panacea to have a look at you. I don't know how we'll…"

I trailed off at Lisa shaking her head, turning her attention down to the notepad and writing something down.

' _Physically fine. Voice muscles fine. Brain can't use voice. Panacea doesn't do brains.'_

I stopped cold for a second. So she did have brain damage after all. After all our best efforts. We- _Wait a minute._

"How did you know that?" I asked slowly. Not even we knew that, for her to have figured it out barely minutes after waking up…

"Are you a Thinker?"

I asked the question bluntly, I didn't want there to be any confusion as to my intent. Behind me I felt Sophia and Emma stiffen as I spoke, Sophia shifting into a higher stance on the floor, whereas Emma's attention remained firmly on Lisa.

Slow clapping resounded round the room as Lisa bought her hands together, her smirk now seeming more mocking than it had seconds earlier. I sighed, fighting the urge to massage my temples (an exercise in futility in a helmet) as I fought off a rising headache.

"So I'm guessing that's why those men wanted you?"

A nod.

"Right. We'll go over the trauma later as you seem fine."

I received a look that screamed ' _really?'_ that I ignored, forging ahead.

"What I am confused about however is why you reacted the way you did to us when you woke up. Now, I can gather we maybe reminded you of the chase, but if it's something different, we need to know. I don't want to set you off again if I can help it."

Another moment of that piercing emerald gaze, before she turned her attention back to Emma for a long moment, before turning to scribble on the pad once more.

' _I_ _can't read you. My power just goes 'nope'. First time that's happened. I panicked. As for Shadow Stalker, it's like she's been lobotomised. My power just gives me gibbering terror when I look at her. The only one I can read is Blue.'_

"Read?"

More scribbling.

' _I'm like Sherlock Holmes on crack. Every tell, every small piece of information I can spot, my power takes it and gives me the rest of the information, builds a complete picture.'_

"And so far it's been infallible, so when you woke up in a place you didn't know, with someone you couldn't read, and another that scares your power, you felt cornered?"

Another nod.

"But why do you think Stalker's been lobotomised?"

More scribbling.

' _I know she's a Parahuman. But I can't tell what her power is. Normally that's easy. Like I can tell Blue over there is an aquakinetic. But if you hadn't told me who she was, I'd not have been able to guess based on her power. On other factors, yes. But not her power.'_

"Weird. So I'm resistant to your power yeah?"

I turned as Sophia spoke, Lisa nodding out the corner of my eye.

"Cool. Think that'll work for all Thinkers?"

' _I don't know. Unless we can pinpoint what happened to cause this, we won't be able to find out. What's the difference between Shadow Stalker and Blue?'_

I sat there a moment, thinking. There were any number of differences, from their personalities to how long they'd had their powers. The only other difference that came to mind was-

"Linking. I haven't linked Blue yet."

Lisa tilted her head in question, as I heard noises of realisation echo from Sophia and Emma.

"I'm a Tinker." I explained, for Lisa's benefit. "But I also have a second power that allows me to 'link', for want of a better term, people to my tech, so they could use it as if I was the one using it. If maybe you can't read me entirely, it may be the 'link' is the part of Stalker you can't read."

' _Any changes you've spotted since?'_

"Well my power has changed slightly." Sophia started off slowly, "I've lost one weakness and gained another, and I have been calmer, less prone to anger. Why?"

I turned to look at Lisa, and froze. She was sitting frozen on the bed, face paler than I'd seen it since she awoke. She looked back at me, then began frantically scribbling on her pad, thrusting it out to me when she finished.

' _Skill granting with emotion manipulation. Sound familiar?'_

Her panic didn't click with me until I'd read the paper over a few times, until it sank in.

" _Shit._ Teacher."

The ambient temperature of the room dropped around ten degrees at my words.

"B-but it's not like I'm going crazy or anything. I'm just not as angry as I used to be. I'm happier than I used to be. It's settled. There've been no changes for weeks. I'm good right? Right?"

Sophia's voice was shaking, on the edge of hysterics, understandable under the circumstances. My world shrunk in on me as I realised the seriousness of the situation. I had a power that reminded a Thinker of Teacher. A villain in the Birdcage. I shrank into a ball, holding my knees against my chest as I rocked back and forth. If the PRT ever found out, a quick death resisting arrest was probably the best I could hope for. I didn't want to go to the Birdcage for something I couldn't even control! My breaths started to come faster and shorter, blackness encroaching on my vision as I despaired.

I was jolted out of my thoughts by an arm around my shoulders. I turned to my side to see Emma crouching beside me, one arm around me as she held me. It was the first time she'd touched me of her own volition in a long time. I choked back a sob and gave her a small nod in thanks, following her gesturing hand up to Lisa as the blonde girl finished writing.

' _For what it's worth, you don't seem the type of person to want to master your friend. And Shadow Stalker doesn't seem like she's under any sort of emotional manipulation. Look, just leave it a few weeks. I'll be able to tell if there's any change in her behaviour. In return, can you let me stay here?'_

I sagged, relieved at Lisa's assurances that I hadn't mastered one of my few friends. She was right, the only thing we could do was wait and see, as callous as that sounded. Then I recalled the last part.

"You want to stay here?" I asked, somewhat thankful for the change in topic. She nodded. "Don't you want to go back home to your family?"

' _They're dead to me. Besides, anyone I went to that would take me wouldn't be able to protect me from the man who you saved me from. So, deal?'_

"Deal" I agreed instantly. If she could spot if I was harming Sophia, that was a massive plus for her staying with us. Regardless of anything else.

"I'll get you something to eat. You must be hungry." I pointed out, moving out of the room toward the kitchen. "I'll be back in a moment." I stepped out the door, studiously avoiding looking at Sophia as I left, almost running down the corridor, trying to outrun my thoughts.

* * *

Sophia found me hours later, hammering yet another piece of metallic protodermis into a flat shape on my anvil, my hair stringy and tangled in knots from the sweat as I worked. My heat thrummed with pain as I pushed myself further than I ever had before, further than I had during the creation of the Mask of Mutation. My power had initially refused to cooperate. Again. But when I kept pushing, kept searching, it was as though all my other ideas fell away, leaving space only for this one project, like repurposing the processing power of a computer. All I needed to do was reach out and touch it. That wasn't proving so easy.

Ever since I'd left Lisa with her lunch, I'd sequestered myself away in my workshop, seeing if I could come up with something to sever the connection between myself and Sophia should the situation come to it. The good news; I found one. The bad news; it was quite possibly the most powerful idea that had come to me yet. Completing it might just kill me, if the recoil when I'd created the Mask of Mutation was any indication. But if it turned out my power really was like Teacher's, and this was able to free Sophia, it would be worth it. Even if I had to bleed to make it happen.

I felt more than heard Sophia stop behind me, shifting awkwardly as she watched me hammer the metal over and over, the curved blade of the spear taking form as I worked.

"I know you blame yourself." The words were soft, barely audible over the noise of the forge and my hammer striking the metal.

"But I don't. When I triggered, I was in a bad place. I know that's no excuse since everyone is, but… I eventually pushed all my friends away. They didn't like the person I became. I became more Shadow Stalker than Sophia. You and Emma are the first friends I've had in a long time, and I'm grateful. Even if it turns out you have Mastered me, I'm glad. And I know that's not me being influenced. We were friends even before you 'linked' me, I wasn't alone. And I know you'd never do this on purpose, or if you though it would hurt me. As I said when this all started, I trust you. So, in the end, no matter what happens, I'm fine. I'm happier than I've been in a long time, and that's entirely down to you. So thank you."

I didn't answer. I couldn't. It wasn't because her words contained an outburst of emotion, of sincerity I'd not expected from my gruff friend, although that was part of it. It wasn't because of the fact that I disagreed with her words, that I blamed myself, though that was a part of it too.

It was because I was finished.

Listening to Sophia had allowed me to ignore the pain in my head, of the screaming of my muscles. Allowed me to ignore the way the blood from my nose was slowly dying my shirt red, of how I could barely see anything past the spear I'd just crafted, laying on the anvil, its shape belying its true power. It allowed me to ignore the ringing in my ears that had started ever since Sophia had stopped talking. It also allowed me to ignore the way my legs crumpled, as my body hit the floor.

Because by that point, I could ignore anything at all.

* * *

When I awoke, it was to see Lisa sitting on the chair by my desk, book in hand as she tapped on an electronic tablet. She turned to me, the sound of me shifting against the bedsheets pulling her attention from her book as she looked over at me.

"How long?" I sighed, pushing myself up into a sitting position, rubbing my eyes free of sleep. After a moment, I looked up to see her response, only to find her sitting in the same position she had been when I last saw her.

"How long was I out Lisa?"

Still nothing.

"Lisa." I growled, only to bling as she held up a finger to her lips, eyes sharp as she stared at me. She swung her body round the chair, sitting sideways on it in order to face me. She leant to the side, supporting her weight on the back of the chair, crossing one leg over the other. Her expression held a trace of anticipation, as if she was waiting for me to say something.

My eyes narrowed. Why would Lisa be the one to be here when I awoke? She had known me the shortest out of time out of the three, only a rotating watch would warrant everyone. Or Sophia and Emma wanted Lisa here specifically. But without her power, the only other aspect she had that the other two didn't was her status as a relative outsider, a third party. But it hadn't been long enough for the pair to extend that much trust to the Thinker, to leave her alone in a room with me while I was unconscious.

I trained my eyes over Lisa's form, taking in the colour in her cheeks, the muscle on her bones, the way she held herself. She was better, but not by much. She was almost back to a healthy colour, but she didn't have as much weight on her as she should have, and she still trembled slightly with the effort of holding herself on the chair. It was almost unnoticeable, but it was there. So, a few days, less than a week. That meant it was a rotating schedule, meaning it was luck that Lisa was the one here when I woke up, and not the others. The extended timeframe also explained the willingness to leave her alone with me, however briefly.

"So three, four days?" I huffed, sinking back into the pillows as the breath rushed out of me as I realised the timeframe. Lisa's eyes held a small amount of surprise, her lip curled slightly at my guess. _You're not the only person who can draw conclusions from the evidence provided._ "I'm guessing someone told my dad what happened?" The smile grew. "I'm guessing you have something to say. Otherwise you would have told me the date before we went through this 'I know, she knows' circus. Let's hear it."

The smile turned smug as she reached for her pad once again. I waited out the moments it took for her to write, looking up as she held the pad in front of me.

' _Killing yourself won't help anyone. I know you weren't doing that, but you still shouldn't have that as a plan. Do you have any idea what would happen to Emma and Sophia if you died? They rely on you for more than friendship. You know this. It's not just yourself you're responsible for now.'_

I sighed, looking down at my clenched hands, sheets fisted between my fingers.

"I know." I gritted out, over the noise of more scribbling. "But if I'm the problem, then isn't it natural that I would remove myself? In order to protect my friends? Besides, you make it sound like I don't trust my friends to live without me? That I don't trust them without my oversight? How arrogant would I have to be to think that?"

A minute passed.

' _You put yourself in the position of leader, not through any overt move, but in how you act around them. Supporting them, not judging. You're a natural leader, they gravitate toward you. If only for their sake, you have to rise to that challenge. You shouldn't be so quick to write yourself either. Do you have any idea about how much either of those two would give to help you? You shouldn't take the world on your shoulders. And I know you're not arrogant. Far from it. And I know you trust them. Even Emma. You've been lying to yourself. It's not that you don't trust Emma with the power you can give her. You don't trust_ _yourself_ _with_ _her power_ _when she's so loyal.'_

My eyes widened in shock, my mind running through the implications of her statement. If that was true… What did that say about me? Of the fears I'd had over the past few weeks? Was I projecting my fears of myself abusing the power I held over Emma onto Emma herself? Numb, I felt more than heard the next words out of my mouth;

"I thought you couldn't read me?"

' _I can model someone 'like' you. It's not perfect, but I can read your two best friends. I built my model of you off their perceptions of you. Anyway, you of all people know what kind of a change Sophia's made since she met you, and you know Emma would die for you. Hell, she'd kill for you. You should have faith in the trust they place in you. They wouldn't be so loyal for no reason. Even I've known you for less than a day, subjectively, and I trust you. You saved me, listened to my request to not take me to a hospital, even if that was the smarter thing to do. You took me here, and healed me. Yes, not perfectly, but considering how bad my injuries were, what you achieved was nothing short of a miracle. Thank you Taylor.'_

It was only at reading that last line that I realised she'd been referring to Emma and Sophia by their names the whole time. It was also the first time I realised I wasn't wearing my helmet. For some reason I wasn't upset by this.

"You're welcome." I rasped out, emotions whirling through my head like a whirlwind as I attempted to grasp some sort of lifeline as I reeled. Taking Lisa's comment about her injuries like a lifeline, I grabbed on with both hands.

"I'll think about the trust issues. But what about you? You look better, are you doing okay?"

More scribbling.

' _I'm fine. I'm getting stronger. I won't ever be back to how I was though, barring Panacea. Whatever the mook shot me with was some form of Tinker-Tech paralytic. Targeted my bones, made them weaker, prevented my immune system from engaging. So on top of needing this to walk, I'm super susceptible to disease now.'_

She tapped the staff beside her as I read down the page, something I hadn't even seen before she pointed out. The thing was a metre of gold metal, something I recognised from the 'offcuts' pile in my workshop. But what I didn't recognise was the eye mounted atop the pole, a finely crafted thing that I had no recollection of making. I decided not to comment.

"Your power tell you that huh?"

A nod.

"And yet another reason for you to stay inside."

A shrug.

"Oh, right. The rest of us go outside. Right. We have Remove Poison Kanoka though. We could use them if you get anything. Anything else we should-"

I was cut off as Emma burst through the door, eyes lighting up in joy as she saw me awake and sitting up in bed.

"Mistress!" She called joyously. "You're awake! I'm so gla- wait." She cut herself off as she shook her head, sending her shoulder-length red hair rushing about her face.

"You have a call Mistress. An important one."

 _Important huh?_ "Dad?" I guessed, thinking of the person who was most likely to want to speak to me after my impromptu nap.

"No. Panacea." She corrected, holding out the phone I used as Artakha for me to take.

 _Panacea?_ I took the phone from her even as I struggled to figure out why the healer would call now. I said I owed her, so maybe this was her calling it in? The timing wouldn't fit otherwise.

I bought the phone to my ear, trusting in the voice modulation technology I'd built into the phone to disguise my voice.

"Artakha speaking."

"Finally! I can't do this anymore! I need to speak to you!"

The voice on the other end of the line was rushed, stressed and more than a little frazzled. Taken aback, I asked the first question to come to mind;

"Panacea?"

"YES! I've tried to ignore it, but you're all I can think about!" I blushed despite myself at her words, spluttering.

"You said you owed me." She continued, "This is me calling it in. I need answers. Answers to questions I can't get out of my head!"

"What questions?" I asked, rapidly finding myself floundering under her onslaught.

"Questions I can't ask over the phone. You have anywhere private for us to meet?"

I sighed, resigning myself to the inevitable. I did owe her my life after all.

"Fine. Meet me on the corner of Petherton and Ashford in an hour."

"Fine. Be there." Came the curt reply, before I was greeted by the dial tone as she hung up.

Throwing my phone onto the bed, I huffed in laughter as a feeling of foreboding seeped through me. And I hadn't even had the most strenuous call yet.

I hadn't called Dad.


	10. Forging 1-8

**Screw it. I'm done early again, so happy Wednesday!**

 **There's one specific point that I've raised in this chapter that I'm a tad bit unsure about (you'll probably know it when you see it), but considering how OP Worm stuff usually is compared to Bionicle I believe I can have this one. I'm not intending on making it into a habit.  
We're getting close though! Two, maybe three chapters then we get to the finale of the Arc, something I've had in my head since the conception of this story, so I'm eager to get to it!  
And this now makes two chapters in a row without fight scenes! Yay me for going out of my comfort zone!**

Without further ado!

The Masks We Wear Chapter 10

Worm/Bionicle

Forging 1.8

After a somewhat tense phone call with Dad, I found myself following Lisa's hunched form through the corridors of the base, thinking furiously about what sort of questions I'd have to answer when Panacea got here. Wearing only the undersuit, greaves and helmet of my armour, I felt almost naked, in comparison to what I normally wore when in costume.

The plan we'd come up with was a relatively simple one. I'd wait in an alley a short way from where I'd arranged to meet Amy. Shadow Stalker would run overwatch in the event of a double-cross, however unlikely it may be, or the more likely event of a third party interrupting. Once Amy got to the arranged place, I would phone her again, and direct her to me. Obviously, I'd be disguised, since we weren't looking for anyone to know Amy was meeting us. That led to my current set up of barely-armoured with the Kanohi Mahiki, mask of illusion, set on my helmet. Once Amy met up with me, I'd teleport her back to the base, where we could have the talk she seemed to desperately need.

Considering the new revelations about my power, I was having Lisa sit in on the conversation. If between themselves, they could help to solve my problem, then I had no issues answering Amy's questions.

"-to hide your face. It'll also help us put across a more united front if we look like we're on the same team."

I was holding out a spare helmet like the one Sophia, Emma and Myself used: Metallic, smooth and unadorned save for the clamps on the mouth and temples that secured Kanohi to the headwear. Lisa rolled her eyes, taking the helmet in her free hand and ticking it under her arm along with her pad.

"Emma will teach you how to put it on. It's simple really, it just takes some getting used to is all."

I missed her response to that statement as I made sure my 'Artakha' phone was attached securely. I didn't want to lose it in the teleportation. I blew air out my nose, rolling my shoulders as I prepared for the meeting. Stepping through the door into the Teleportation room, I made to move toward the teleportation pad, only to stop in my tracks as I felt resistance. I turned to see Lisa hooking her staff over my shoulder, preventing me from moving. Once I was looking at her, I saw her give me a encouraging smile, her expression sincere.

"Thanks Lisa."

My voice was quiet, barely audible, but she'd obviously heard me, because the quiet and supportive face she wore was quickly wiped away for a cocky, mocking smirk that seemed to be her default expression. She flicked her fingers at me, in a 'hurry along' motion. Snorting at the dismissal, I mentally triggered the Mahiki, my form rippling into my disguise as the illusion took hold.

In place of my helmet and under-armour, there stood a girl wearing a loose white blouse and crimson trousers. A pair of sturdy black boots completed the ensemble. Her face was more angular than my own, with high cheekbones and a smoother chin. Despite the severe image of her face, her gleaming emerald eyes and long rust-coloured hair softened the overall impression, giving her a gentler, more approachable look.

Turning back to Lisa just in time to see the shock face from her eyes, I gave her a nod and stepped onto the teleportation pad. Idly wondering about the similarities to the Star Trek teleportation pads, I knelt down, touching the Kanoka at my feet and the world around me vanished in a flash of light.

When the light cleared, I found myself kneeling in the alley I'd chosen to meet Panacea in, overflowing dumpster and all. Looking down, I was just in time to catch the teleportation Kanoka that served as the second end of the link shrink down to the size of a quarter, almost undetectable against the grey of the asphalt.

The network was one of the ideas I'd come up with to assist Sophia and myself when we were on Patrol. Since we weren't the Protectorate, and didn't have fancy vehicles or a network of early-warning systems to inform us about crime, we had to think of alternate methods. The teleportation network was one of the ways I'd thought of to compensate. Since the Protectorate didn't patrol in the parts of the city nearest the docks, or all that far from the boardwalk really, we'd taken to altering our routes, covering the ground the Protectorate didn't. Of course, when we did fight Parahumans, the Protectorate showed up to share in the glory, but unless there was a confirmed Cape, we had the run of the place.

Of course, being that we were the only people apart from the PD fighting crime, that meant we were run off our feet most of the time in an attempt to respond to all the incidents. Until I implemented the network. Deploying from the base all the time would severely impact our response time. Teleporting from the base to the conflict though? That enabled us to be on top of most incidents within five minutes. Even if we were out in the city at the time, all we had to do was a teleport-chain to the base, then to the battle. Simple. It was the one advantage we had over the Protectorate, at least within our sphere of influence.

I pulled back into the alley, acknowledging Sophia's report, and settled down to wait for our guest.

* * *

It was only around ten minutes later when the voice of Sophia rang in my ear, telling me that Panacea was waiting on the corner I'd requested. Rolling my shoulders as I pushed off the wall I'd been leaning against, I scrolled through the communication options on my HUD until I came across Panacea's number.

 _Showtime._

"Panacea?"

"Speaking. Who is this?"

"Artakha. We spoke earlier. Since you were so worried about being overheard, I changed the venue slightly. I hope you don't mind."

"Fine. Whatever. Where are you?"

"Only a block away. If you turn left and walk around fifty metres, there should be an alley on your left. I'll be waiting there."

I waited for the affirmation before disconnecting the call, dropping back into the shadows of the alley as I waited. It didn't even take five minutes for her to reach me. Peering into the alley, the brunette took a step forward, before realising that she was about to walk into an alley, alone, in search of a mysterious cape.

"Hello? Artakha?"

At the healer's call, I pushed off the wall and strode out into the light. She blinked as she saw my face, obviously anticipating me coming 'masked up' to the meeting.

"Hello Panacea. It's a pleasure to meet you again." I began, trying to put her at ease. "I'm sorry for the subterfuge, but I'd rather no-one knew we'd met. " She nodded at my reasoning, looking around me for anyone behind me, presumably in fear of a trap. "If you'd take this, I can take you to our base. I can guarantee we won't be overheard."

She looked warily at the teleportation Kanoka I'd pulled out from behind me. "What's that?"

"Teleportation disc." I smiled. "It won't hurt you. It's perfectly safe."

With a long-suffering sigh and muttering something about Carol, she reached out hesitantly and took hold of the disc, the pair of us being enveloped by the flash. As the light faded, Panacea stumbled back away from me, bumping into the glass surrounding the teleportation pad.

"Whu?"

"Hey, easy." I soothed, dismissing the Kanoka and reaching over to steady the brunette. She managed to scramble to her feet, leaning on the glass as she caught her breath.

"It's okay. It's a bit disorienting the first time. Just take deep breaths."

"I'm fine. It just surprised me."

I blinked.

"Right. Sorry. Shall we move somewhere more comfortable?"

She nodded.

"Oh. And could you do me a favour and switch your phone off please? I'd rather not it be tracked."

A sigh emanated from behind me, though I was able to see her turn the device off and take the battery out. As I led the way through the corridors of the base, I relaxed my hold on the Mahiki, allowing my illusion to fall off me like water.

"What!?"

I turned, seeing Panacea had stopped behind me, staring at my half-armoured form.

"You're a stranger?" Came the question.

"Hah, no." I laughed, turning full-on to face her. "I'm a Tinker. It's just illusions. I just didn't want to be recognised on the street." There. Let her think I was doing it with hard-light or something. I hadn't lied. I'd just let her form her own conclusions.

"Right." The rejoinder was somewhat doubtful, but she continued to follow me until I'd moved into the living area. Lisa was, of course, there, fiddling with a wireless keyboard, alternating between looking at the object in her hands and the screen on the wall, which currently was pure white. I sighed as I saw she'd somehow found some gold paint, for her helmet was now the same gold as her staff, glinting in the light. Pushing _that_ mystery from my mind, I invited Panacea to sit on one of the sofas scattered about the area with a wave of my hand.

"Do you want something to drink?" I asked, moving over to the kitchen area as I did so.

"Uh, water, please." Panacea tore her gaze away from Lisa to answer, before continuing with; "Why's she here? I thought you said you didn't want to be overheard?"

"I don't." I responded, walking back with her glass of water and setting it down on the table in front of her, before continuing over to the sofa Lisa was settled on, sitting myself down. "But she's a Thinker. I recently discovered some… worrying aspects of my power that quite frankly scare me, so I was hoping between your questions, and her insights, I'd be able to regulate my power better."

A staccato of clacking next to me turned my attention to Lisa, fingers flying over the keyboard, the previously white monitor flashing up with words just a second later. Huh. Clever.

' _Hi Panacea! I'm Turaga Fragarach, and I'll be your chaperone for today.'_

Seriously?

"You're not a Toa?" She asked, turning to face Lisa. More clacking heralded Lisa's response;

' _Nope. My frail body couldn't handle the stress. I'm a Turaga. I'm the chief of this here base. No matter what the others say._ _'_

I watched as Panacea's eyes dulled, resignation flashing through them for a second before she bought her poker face back up. She finished reading through Lisa's text, before looking back toward us, as though waiting for us to ask something. Taking the hint, I leaned forward.

"So, I'm more than willing to answer your questions." I began, confused at the shock, then relief that flashed across her features for a split second. Putting it aside, I forged on. "What I owe you can't be repaid by something as small as a Q and A session, so I really have no problem you being here."

"Huh. Okay then." She seemed to shake herself off before leaning forward, elbows on her knees as she looked directly at me. "How do you have powers?"

I froze.

 _Light._

 _Heat._

 _Pain._

 _Wind._

 _Smoke._

 _The rustling of leaves being pulled across the ground._

 _The thump of large feet on the earthen floor._

 _That golden mask, followed by darkness._

I shook myself out of my thoughts in time for Lisa to finish typing, hitting the Enter key with more force than was required.

' _Don't you think that's out of order? Not to mention cruel? You don't just go around asking people about their Triggers! Don't you remember how it felt to have Victoria bleeding out in front of you?'_

I watched as Panacea's face turned white, before her eyes opened wide in shock and she turned back to me, waving her hands before her as though to ward off our disapproving stares.

"NO!" She cried, horror seeping through every facet of the word before she calmed somewhat, clenching her fists on her knees and biting her lip in consternation.

"No." She repeated more calmly, though no less firmly. "Well, maybe?" She winced, looking guiltily up at me through her fringe. "It depends." She sat up squaring her shoulders and looking straight at me.

"It's you who's the Tinker right? It isn't a lie, you're not covering for someone making the tech for you?"

"What, no! I'm a Tinker, I make my own tech!" My response was filled with no small amount of indignation. How could she even insinuate that? She had no idea the blood, sweat and tears I put into my work. Especially when I had to push against my power itself to do so. How dare she?

She must have recognised something shifting in my stance, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lisa stiffen slightly.

"I only ask because it would have been the easiest answer." Panacea huffed, "When I was healing you, that day when we met, there was something I couldn't explain, something I'd never seen before. You see, my power lets me comprehend the entirety of an organism the moment I touch it. It's what allows me to identify what's wrong with my patients so fast. When I healed you, something was missing. Something you should have had."

"What?" My voice was barely a whisper, although in the oppressive silence that had fallen, it travelled further than any shout.

She seemed to come to a decision within herself, determination filling her eyes as she spoke the words that rocked my world to its very core.

"How can you have powers without a Corona Pollentia?"

* * *

 **Lisa**

Lisa's eyes widened beneath her helmet as her Panacea's words sunk in. beside her she felt Taylor stiffen in shock, but she ignored it, letting her power run rampant on the information.

 _Corona Pollentia: Designation of area of brain used to manage subconscious power control. Corona Pollentia present in every recorded instance of Parahuman Powers. Conclusion: Subject Taylor Hebert is not a Parahuman._

Well wasn't that a shock? Panacea was right; taking the credit for another Tinker's work would have been the most reasonable conclusion. Although the similarities with Teacher… Maybe she'd been _granted_ a power?

 _Although subject is not a Parahuman, Subject has displayed powers consistent with feats attributed to Parahumans. Subject has not been influenced by Parahuman. Subject has not been granted power by Parahuman. Source of power is different to that of Parahumans._

Wait what? Not only was she not a Parahuman, it implied that her power had a source, outside of whatever gave Parahumans their powers in the first place, something no-one had been able to find out!

Eager to find out more information, Lisa pushed her power further, not even realising she'd been typing the entire time.

 _Source of power not different source that would be expected. Source of power not encountered before. Source in direct opposition to aim of Parahuman Powers. Power prevents 'Conflict' escalation phenomenon by removing shard aspect of powers, replacing with different energy, leaving functional aspects._

Encountered before? That implied previous exemptions to Parahuman powers being recorded, and something told her it didn't mean in the few years since Parahumans had become known. This was it! She was so close she could taste it!

So focussed was she that she didn't realise that her arm, the one closest to Taylor, had lifted from her side, forming a fist, and hanging there, horizontally.

 _Warning being sent. Wiping Host's memories._

What!?

Lisa started, blinking out of her Thinker dream, just in time for her to feel an impact on her fist.

Power rushed up her arm, and everything went black.

* * *

I shook myself out of my shock, Panacea's face swimming back into focus as I gaped like a fish.

I wasn't a Parahuman? How could that be? Everything I'd read came to the conclusion that I was, indeed, a Parahuman. My Trigger event, my powers, everything! How could this be possible? I gasped in air, trying to calm myself before I hyperventilated. Searching for something, anything, to distract me, I opened my mouth to ask Panacea to clarify when I heard a frantic clacking by my side.

Turning to face the disturbance, and seeing Panacea do the same out the corner of my eye, I saw Lisa typing away at her keyboard so fast her fingers were almost a blur. Reigning my panic in, I took a deep breath and waited for Lisa to finish. What was slightly concerning however, was the way only her arms and hands were moving, the rest of her staying as still as a statue. I turned away from my friend when the screen on the wall lit up with text. Though if I'd thought Lisa's behaviour worrying, it was nothing compared to what she'd written, the text blunt and rushed;

' _You're not a Parahuman. Haven't been influenced or granted a Power by a Parahuman. Power comes from source other than source of Parahuman Power. Power prevents third-party influence on Parahumans. You must Link with me. Otherwise this information will be forgotten and Contingencies will be enacted.'_

Although I sat frozen at the news, the part of me that emerged in combat spoke through my lips;

"Hold out your hand, make a fist."

I watched, as though a passenger in my own body, as I turned fully toward Lisa as she did as I'd requested, her arm rose, once again being the only part of her body that moved. praying in my heart I wasn't making the wring choice, I regained conscious control over myself as I fed my power into my fist, using it to build a bridge between myself and the girl in front of me.

"Wait a second-"

Ignoring Panacea's outburst, I smacked my fist into Lisa's, pushing my power into her in order to forge a new connection, pouring it in like water through a drain. A split second later, the connection was ruptured as a spike of pain buried itself in my head forcing the two of us apart and onto opposite ends of the sofa as we writhed.

I curled into a ball, hands around my head, gritting my teeth as a whine of agony escaped me. A second later, hands slipped in through the slit Lisa's clawing had opened in my under-suit, and the pain abated. I forced my head up in time to see Panacea head over to Lisa, placing a hand on her bare hand, and the blonde stopped writhing, slumping panting onto her side of the couch.

Watching me staring at her, Panacea immediately leapt up and away from Lisa, fisting her hands in her shirt as she did so.

"I'm sorry for using my power on you without your permission, but you were in pain and-"

"It's fine." I waved away her concern, stiffly manoeuvring myself into a more comfortable position.

"Believe me, I needed it. Thanks."

"Urrghhh." The pair of us turned our heads to the crumpled form of Lisa on the other end of the couch as she propped herself up so she could see us. Although she couldn't speak, the groan she made as she sat back, picking up the keyboard came across fine. She shook her head as though to clear it, before she started erasing the jumble of letters that came from the keyboard hitting the floor when she'd dropped it. She hammered at the backspace, the page flickering up as the characters were erased, before she froze upon coming across her previous message.

I waited a few seconds before I decided to make a comment;

"You don't remember writing that do you?"

The shake of her head was damming. I swallowed at the oppressive feeling that once more crashed down around us.

"Well, at least I'll have good news to tell Stalker."

* * *

"So, to recap; I'm not a Parahuman, the reason you couldn't read me before was because my power specifically blocks Thinkers from reading me, and the reason for Sophia's shift in attitude was because I'd _removed_ a master influence, not caused one. Oh yeah, and Parahuman powers are influencing us to fight each other. Anything else?"

The five of us sat round the couches in the living area, unmasked. With what we were discussing, things like secret identities suddenly became a lot less important. With the revelation of the century still flashing up on the monitor, Lisa had gone back to the pad and paper, making notes as she alternated from staring at the monitor, and the paper in front of her.

Sophia had all but collapsed in relief when I'd told her the news. Emma's response hadn't been so happy. The news that her power was influencing her mind was something that she was taking badly. I couldn't blame her. I'd already resolved to Link her before the day was out.

"The fact that your power comes from something else entirely unknown to our powers? Or the fact your anti-Thinker power seems a _bit_ convenient?"

The dry comment came from Amy, slouched over her glass as she rolled it back and forth in her hands. The brunette had been thinking furiously for the past few minutes, and every so often, it would look like she wanted to ask me a question, before she'd baulk, and return to glaring at her hands. Considering what the last question she'd asked was, I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"And considering what happened to Lisa when she figured all this out, how was she able to get to it in the first place? Surely it would be better to prevent people finding out this information in the first place, rather than forget about it when they find out? Speaking of, how are we even able to hold this conversation anyway?

Scribbling came from beside me, and we all patiently waited the minute it took Lisa to compose her sentences.

' _My power was trying to figure out Taylor's power. Considering how it's been cockblocking me, it was more than happy to work on that. I'm guessing it gave away more than it intended to. I only got slapped down when I specifically looked at parahuman powers. And for the rest of us, I don't really know? Taylor said she built her power into the walls of this place, so maybe that protects us from the backlash?'_

…

"Eh, as good an explanation as any. We can try talking about it outside, see what happens, but we have bigger issues."

Sophia, for once, was completely invested in the conversation. All of her snide comments and verbal jabs were nowhere to be found, replaced by a laser-minded focus. Something I'd rarely seen outside of battle.

"Right. Bullshit Faraday cage is bullshit." Amy sighed to herself. "So, you're the sole black spot in Thinker predictions because your power doesn't play nice with Parahumans. It's obvious your power was tailor made to mess with us. The fact you can also give power to others also rings a few bells."

"Oh no." I slashed my hand across myself in a defiant gesture. "I've read Harry Potter. You're not gonna start calling me the 'Chosen One' are you? Besides, I can only Link so many times. It's not like I can raise an army or something. Besides, I don't want to be seen as a warlord or some such. I want to set myself up first, get my views across before we think about any over-reaching conspiracy plots or anything like that. Even knowing there's an enemy to fight puts us in a better position than this morning, even if we don't know who they are. At least we can prepare."

"Speaking of that," Amy began curiously, "what are your views? You don't call yourselves 'Heroes', but 'Toa', and you don't like the Protectorate. Why? What does it mean to you to be a Hero?"

I sat there for a moment, contemplating my response. Something like this, one of the core tenants of what set me apart from the rest of the Cape scene before I realised I was different, was not something that could be answered easily. It was more of an internal creed, but I had to try.

"First of all, without getting too poetic about it, there are as many answers to that question as there are stars in the sky. Perceptions change, so what I view as a Hero may not be the same as your views."

"The Protectorate view the mantle of a Hero as someone flashy, out in the open, a white knight if you will. They're constantly visible, in the public eye, and fight the powered threats that seem to be everywhere, up to and including the Endbringers."

"But their insistence at being seen as the 'good guys' means they're unwilling to do what they should. It should be easy to clean up the city, but they let it seep deeper and deeper into ruin with every passing day. They only stick to areas where they'll be seen the most, like the Boardwalk and a few miles out from there. I can't even remember the last time a Protectorate patrol went down my street. Despite the fact they're murderers, they keep villains free on the off chance that they might help out in Endbringer battles, letting them free to make our lives a misery in the meantime."

"There's also the fact that they don't see anything other than fighting villains as a worthy cause. On one of my first nights out, I saw Armsmaster ignore a building on fire, a building with people in it, in order to go to a fight with the Empire. A fight where he didn't even manage to capture anyone. It was only due to the fact that I happened to be there that an entire family didn't die that day. And the Protectorate stood by and did nothing. They could do so much more! I mean, I have things that can cure disease, heal wounds and rebuild cities. How many Tinkers do the Protectorate have on staff? And none of them can see beyond the next power bracket on their laser rifle."

"In short, I see the Protectorate as more an organisation for fighting villains, rather than saving people. They're just another Gang. PR, territory and muscle. It's all the same. The only difference is that they're Government backed."

I paused a second, letting what I'd said sink in, before I picked up my speech again;

"And then there's New Wave."

I watched Amy tense, obviously ready to refute any points I could make against her team, but I soldiered on.

"In many ways you're the same as the Protectorate, with your white costumes and your public image. But there's differences too. The largest of which is your identities are public. Now I think the sentiment is great. Heroes that are accountable for their actions? Great! Now, if a Protectorate Hero gets the book thrown at them for a digression, leading to them being discharged, I wouldn't be surprised to hear a Hero showing up on the other side of the country with a similar powerset. Because we don't know who they are, they can get away with only a slap on the wrist, let their Cape identity take the punishment, and take up a new one elsewhere, scot-free. But the problem with New Wave is just that; everyone knows who you are. Look what happened to Fleur."

I ignored Amy's slight flinch, cringing on the inside at poking at that wound, but this needed to be said.

"And not everyone's family has powers to protect them. It works for your family because everyone can protect themselves, and no-one in their right mind is going to be gunning for you. But not all of us have that protection. And then there's the fact that New Wave is just that; Family. It makes outsiders less likely to want to join, especially if they have to unmask, and what of their children? When they first unmasked, it was fine, all involved had a say in making the decision, but for you, your sister and cousins? You had no say. They made your decision for you."

Leaning forwards, I stared hard into her eyes in order to get the message across.

"That isn't okay. Despite the fact you all seem to have borne the scrutiny well, it could have been a lot worse."

Leaning back, I pushed my hair back over my shoulder from where it had dropped when I leaned over.

"So, in the end, I decided to go my own way. I saw no-one protecting the people around me, so I changed my patrols to do just that. I saw a self-professed 'Hero' ignore people in danger in a bid to increase his fame in a hunt for glory. I refuse to take the title of 'Hero' because I have not yet earned it. I don't want to subscribe to the thought that just because you put on a costume and join a specific group, you are immediately granted a title everyone else in history before now has had to earn. I don't want to be part of an organisation that pumps out heroes like some sort of factory. If I am called that, it will be that I've earned it. Not before."

I took a deep breath to restore the air to my lungs, slightly out of breath after my speech. I hadn't even noticed that emotion had leaked into my voice at the end.

"And if I am to keep true to myself." I finished, calmer now, "To not start on the slippery slope that would lead me to being a villain, I need conviction. A code. One that I abide by, that prevents me from falling, from tarnishing the name I have taken as my own."

The silence that followed my words was charged with anticipation. I set my gaze squarely on Amy, her eyes wide as saucers, her attention firmly fixed on me. I sat there, calmly, waiting to see if what I had said would strike a chord in the girl opposite me, to see if I believed as I did. During the time taken to gather the others together, Lisa had fed her observations on Amy to my HUD, giving me an insight into the healer.

She was lonely.

Her social circle revolved entirely around her sister. She spent so much time at Hospitals in her capacity as Panacea that she legitimately didn't have anyone she could call 'friend' apart from Glory Girl. The knowledge reminded me of the black weeks after Emma's betrayal. I didn't want to let her languish any longer than I had to. She reminded me of myself so much it was painful. Just like the Telekenetic, she had a flimsy support structure. She deserved better. I was hoping we could be that for her.

"Your code." She swallowed, fisting her hands as she asked the question, "What is it?"

I smiled softly at the enquiry. That meant she was interested, or at least curious. Hopefully opening myself up to her somewhat would extend a level of camaraderie beyond the knowledge we both held.

"No killing, unless as a last resort in defence of your own life, or others." I recited the first line, memories floating through my head of nights sat around the fire of my forge discussing the very question Amy had posed earlier: _What did it mean to be a Hero?_

"To stand beside your sisters-in-arms, to have their back, and to have no role in betrayal. Of yourself, of those you fight beside, and of those you protect."

Emma broke me out of my memories, reciting the second line, eyes burning with determination and regret.

"To keep the honour of your name, and of those you stand beside."

Sophia picked up the chant, the third line delivered with the confidence of her long time as a cape.

"And to be upfront and transparent in all matters."

I closed out the code with a smile, the pact we'd taken flowing thicker than blood between us.

"So, you see, I take this seriously." I commented mildly, "And that is my, no _our_ view. Does that disappoint you?"

"No."

The word came after a few seconds of silence, the brunette's mind obviously whirling, raking over my words, dissecting them in order to better understand me. She was the daughter of a lawyer after all.

"No. In fact I agree with that. I don't agree with all the points you made earlier, but your code, your values?" She looked me directly in the eye. "Those, I have no problem with."

"Good." I grinned. "So, do you have a question to ask me?" I spoke softly, in order to not spook the girl who was slowly coming to trust me. And I her. She flinched, shock flashing across her face for a second before guilt followed it.

"So you could tell huh?" she snorted despondently, her eyes fixed on her knees.

"Ever since you found out what I could do, you've been fighting with yourself." I confirmed. As I spoke, I saw Emma stiffen out the corner of my eye, but she said nothing. The four of us waited in silence for Amy to gather her thoughts, her hands trembling so badly I could see it from where I sat.

"My power isn't healing." She began, true fear on her face for the first time I'd seen. "I'm a biokinetic, I manipulate biology. It's how I'm able to heal, to tell what's wrong with a patient so fast."

She looked up at us, as though expecting us to run screaming from the room. Beyond tensing up at the confession, none of us had moved a muscle. Seeming to take support from this, she picked up her flagging confidence and continued;

"I've been having… urges, visions of what I could do with my power. And the results scare me. You understand right?" The last was spoken as a desperate plea, her eyes locked onto mine, wide with fear.

"I understand."

The simple acknowledgement of her fear seemed to calm the brunette, allowing her to sink back into the couch as I spoke.

"Not all powers are simple, or easy, or conform to the moral boundaries of those who get them. The reason I had Lisa sit in on our conversation was that she realised my power has distinct similarities to Teacher's."

She gasped slightly at the confession, and paradoxically, relaxed slightly, the small kernel of doubt that had remained in her face vanishing at the confirmation that I did share her fears.

"Now, thanks to what we learned, I know that it isn't. I _prevent_ outside manipulation, not cause it. But that doesn't change the fact that I spent hours thinking I'd Mastered one of my friends. That will never go away. I will always have that shadow of doubt hanging over my head. And it's a bitter lesson to learn. How many of my creations could do the same? How long until I would really have Mastered someone, without even realising it, or something worse? It's taught me to be more careful, and to trust in my friends more."

…

"Thank you for telling me."

I looked up into her eyes, and quirked my lips ever so slightly.

"You're welcome."

She smiled.

"So can… can you use your power on me? Please? I… I don't want to do something, become someone I'll regret. Please?"

"Of course." I chuckled, "I won't leave you to that. Not if I can help it. But there's something I need to do first. It's only right."

Turning to my left, to where Emma sat as stiff as a board, resolutely looking anywhere but at Amy.

"Emma."

"Y-yes Mistress!"

My words caused her to jump, jolting out of her thoughts. I smiled, turning my hand palm-up, lifting it slightly in a signal. She all but jumped to her feet in front of me, such was her haste. As she stared at me, I thought about what to say. In my own fear, I'd hurt her, made her feel unworthy, or undeserving of my gift. She didn't deserve that. Especially not with how hard she'd been trying to make up for her actions. She'd need something more formal than what I used with Sophia, and Lisa. Something to make her feel appreciated.

"I'm sorry Emma." I began, shame colouring my cheeks and voice as I spoke. "I was scared. I didn't trust myself, and I hurt you. I'm sorry." All the books I'd read, all the flowery lines from speeches that Mom used to read to me at bedtime fled my mind as I looked at her, instead leaving me with the truth. Blunt. To the point. But it was sincere, ant that counted for everything.

"It's okay." She smiled softly up at me, "You have nothing to apologise for." I disagreed, but she wasn't hurt by it, and accepted my apology. I didn't want to push too far for fear of re-opening old wounds, so I forged on, straightening as I slipped into my 'Artakha' voice, looking my friend straight in the eye.

"Emma Barnes. Do you swear to stand beside us, family in all but blood, and to stand as my sword, to bring honour to the title of 'Toa'?"

She immediately sunk down to one knee, like a knight kneeling before their king, and replied;

"I do Mistress."

"Raise your hand." I commanded, folding my fingers into a fist as her own rose to meet mine. As they touched, finally, my power rushed into Emma's body, her soul almost seeming to eagerly take my essence into itself, making her more than she was.

As the flow finished, Emma leaped to her feet, and I could barely make out the glistening of tears in her eyes before she enveloped me in a hug. I relaxed into her embrace, returning the hug as she continued to chant 'Thank You' into my hair, softly enough I was sure none could hear it. She sniffed once, pulling back far enough for me to see her beatific smile, before she composed herself somewhat, disentangling herself from me as she sat down, her smile still firmly plastered upon her face.

With the long overdue task done, I turned back to Amy, who was looking at me with wonder once more.

"So Amy." I began, feeling a friendlier, casual approach would work best with the lonely girl before me. "Do you feel up to joining us, to being able to call us comrade, and friend?"

Her face lit up in the first smile that I'd seen from her yet, as she pressed her knuckles against my own.

"Yes."

* * *

Watching Sophia, Emma and Amy bustle around the kitchen in an attempt to make some dinner, I sunk down onto the couch next to Lisa, the blonde cocking her head in a questioning, pose, her ever-present smirk tugging at her lips.

"I'm fine. Just tired." I capitulated, knowing she wouldn't let me go without answering her unasked question. Her smirk only widened, and I had to question her claims of not being able to read me. "Fine, fine." I sighed, surrendering to the inevitable, "I'm just worried about how much faith everyone seems to place in me. It's hard to live up to it."

Scribbling cut across the noise of the three girls opening the cupboards, and I waited the customary few minutes for Lisa to write, turning my head to face the paper she dropped in my lap.

' _But you already are. Their faith isn't unfounded, it's based off what you've already done, and not what they think you'll do. Take Sophia for instance. Her power destroyed her social life. She was adrift, living solely by night as her cape persona. You saved her from that, from a life of loneliness, and she wants to repay that. It also helps she sees you as the strongest person around her. Amy is much like Sophia. She's never really had friends. You saved her from loneliness as well, but you also saved her from herself, when you had no reason to do so. I shudder to think what would have happened if her issues had gone unnoticed._

 _Then there's me. You've saved my life twice over now, and that's not mentioning what you've done for my mind, and continue to do in order to protect me. I_ _owe_ _you. And so does everyone else. And Emma, well, what isn't there to say?_

 _She went through trauma, something that very well could have triggered her if she were any weaker in spirit. She fights her way through it, finding a way to prop up her destroyed self-esteem, then her worldview gets torn out from under her, and she finds she's betrayed her best friend. Then, when she plucks up the courage to apologise, her fears almost end up killing you by her inaction. Then, when all hope seems lost, you reach out a hand to her, like a knight in a fairy tale, and promise to be her guiding light. Is there any wonder she's devoted to you?_

 _Face it, you're already living up to your own legend. You just need to believe in yourself. We're all here for a reason. And that reason's_ _you_ _.'_

I smiled, passing the pad back to Lisa, who accepted it with a nod, as though this was the way the world worked, according to her.

"Thanks again Lisa." I grinned, seeing my expression mirrored by the girl next to me. "Looks like you have to keep propping me up huh?"

Lisa smirked, rolled the page over and picked up her pen to start writing again.

Then the Endbringer sirens sounded.


	11. Forging 1-9

**Whooo! Another one bites the dust!  
This may be the last one for a bit; holidays beckon, and I don't trust airlines with my toiletries, let alone my laptop, so I'll just leave you stewing in the revelations for a bit.**

 **Oh, and we now have TV Tropes!**

 **/Fanfic/BarelyPresentsTheMasksWeWear.**

 **Big thanks to TheLiteraryLord for the page! *bows in gratitude***

 **Did you know there was a 'Mask Power' Trope? I didn't. Fitting huh?**

 **But without any further ado, let's get on with it!**

* * *

The Masks We Wear Chapter 11

Worm/Bionicle

Forging 1.9

* * *

The Simurgh attacked Madison, Wisconsin on the sixteenth of July, 2009. The assembled Parahumans acting in defence of the city failed to drive the Endbringer off within the time limit, forcing the PRT to quarantine the city.

An unsurprising pre-emptive phone call from Dad point-blank refused me from attending. With Emma much in the same position, Sophia was unwilling to go alone, leaving the four of us to sit and watch the news feed while Amy rushed off to meet with her family.

The five of us spent time together, using the rest of the summer holidays to become more comfortable as a group, disguising Amy and Lisa so we could go out to the mall together, without being recognised. The brunette slowly started to unfurl, standing straight, facing the world head on instead of bowing her head to it. It was nice to see the healer come out of the shadow of Panacea and just be Amy, something that Lisa said she sorely needed. The snappishness and curt answers that had characterised our early meetings was gone now, but her tongue was still as sharp as ever.

* * *

"Hey Amy! Wait!" I called, swinging my hand above my head in order to get my friend's attention. My frantic flailing worked, for she stepped off the teleport pad, giving a long suffering sigh at my antics.

"Taylor." Her voice held the tone of a mother humouring her children who'd just done something stupid, neither warm nor cold, but something that made you squirm inside. "Did you set fire to my plants again? Because I distinctly remembering someone promising to buy me new ones if it happened again?"

I cringed at the reminder.

"I told you that was an accident! I forgot I left the shield there, honest. And it was only the once!"

My response was met with a raised eyebrow.

Much like Sophia's power had changed after I Linked her, Amy's power had changed too. Whilst she was still able to manipulate organic matter to heal, allowing her to continue her work as Panacea, her power was now much more effective at controlling plant life. As such, she maintained a small garden in one of the newer areas of the base, the green room giving a much needed change of pace to the monotonous grey concrete walls of the renovated sewer. I'd mistakenly left one of my more… flammable projects next to the door when I was about ten hours behind on sleep. She'd never let me forget it since.

"No, your plants are fine." I groused, holding the bag I'd carried out in front of me. "I wanted to give you something."

She stepped down toward me, taking the drawstring bag and reaching inside, pulling out the first of my gifts.

"A watch?"

"It's got a teleportation Kanoka built into the back, so you have an escape if you ever need one. The button's also an emergency beacon, for if you can't run and need us to come to you. Everyone has one." I explained, pulling my shirt up my wrist to show my own watch.

"Thanks." She smiled, rolling up her own sleeve to put the device on. Watch attached to her wrist, she delved back into the bag to pull out my other gift. Her hand retracted clutching a thin metal rod, about the size of a pen.

"Let me guess; this is a grenade?" She smirked, looking so much like Lisa in that moment that it scared me. I rolled my eyes at her joke, grumbling softly under my breath.

"No, we're not in a Bond movie. Look at it. Really _look_ at it."

She took my advice, focusing on the metal rod, blinking as she noticed something. A second later, the rod expanded as the growth Kanoka kicked in, expanding the sliver of metal into a piece of metal twenty centimetres long and around five wide. The rod was solid silver, with a pair of black buttons on one side, and a black case on the bottom segment.

"Go on." I encouraged at her probing look. She depressed the button, and a snap-hiss emanated from the rod as a meter of dark blue energy sprung from the weapon. Amy stood there for a second, taking in the blade that had appeared out of nowhere.

"You made a lightsaber."

I groaned at her dry observation. I should have expected this.

"No, It's not a lightsaber. It isn't plasma. It uses liquid protodermis suspended in an electric field-"

"Taylor." She cut my explanation off, mirth dancing in her eyes. "It's a lightsaber."

I sighed, giving up the fight in order to explain its use.

"Whatever you want to call it. The important thing is that it uses electricity, and has two modes, solid, in which it acts like a normal blade, and insubstantial, during which it can pass through objects and shock them. As you've seen, it can be shrunk for ease of concealment. We all carry them to protect ourselves in our civilian identities, and I thought you could use one too."

The smile I received made all the teasing worth it.

* * *

Lisa had been settling into her role as 'Turaga' perfectly fine, despite having only half-access to my power that the others did. She theorised that the 'intervention' that had knocked her out and caused her to forget our conversation interrupted the transfer halfway. I'd since tried to restore the rest of the connection, but we'd had no luck. Despite this, she was perfectly happy with what she had. With her power being able to work through webcams, she was able to take clues from our helmet-cams, so I started streaming mine and Sophia's views to Lisa's command console when we went out on patrol. But the most memorable moment came when I showed her the special Kanohi I'd made for her.

"Now careful, it's a bit disorienting the first time." I explained as I attached the Kanohi to Lisa's helmet. The mask matched her helmet in colour, glowing golden in the lamplight. A puff of air heralded Lisa's approximation of a snort. Setting her staff aside, the blonde took the helmet from my hands, slipping it on over her head as I watched. There was a pause, then the goggle-like lenses on the mask lit up with a blue hue, signifying the HUD on Lisa's side of the mask flaring into existence. The mask wasn't as strong as it could have been, owing to the smaller ability Lisa had in operating my tech, but the loss in power ensured she would be able to use the Kanohi

"This is the Mask of Biomechanics." I explained, pacing in front of the girl as I spoke. "It allows you control technology within a certain radius. I figured this would give you easier control over the command interface if you could assess it all mentally." I received a nod in return as she took in the information. "It also has a voice synthesiser in the faceplate." I finished, somewhat hesitantly. Lisa nodded once more, then her neck snapped round to focus on me so fast I was surprised she didn't have whiplash.

"You won't be able to use it out of costume of course, we don't want you to out yourself after all. But I thought you might like to have a voice back, even if it isn't yours."

I resisted the urge to wring my hands as Lisa continued to stare at me. Instead of the teeth-like design of the lower portion, Lisa's Kanohi was instead clear and smooth, with a small circle of LCD screen set where the mouth would be. The screen suddenly lit up for a brief moment as an unearthly screech emanated from the mask. I flinched back at the noise, cupping my ears at the noise.

" _Sorry."_

The pair of us stiffened at the voice. I slowly turned back to Lisa, her hands raised to her throat in shock. I smiled, the grin blossoming on my face as Lisa seemed to choke in shock.

" _Taylor?"_

The screen once more lit up with her speech, this time forming a glow that emulated the shape and the movement of a mouth as it said the words, instead of the block of colour her previous attempt had been.

"Hi Lisa."

Suddenly, I was almost knocked off my feet as Lisa suddenly rocketed into me, shaking with the force of her emotions. I returned her embrace, supporting her against myself as she shook. And if I mistook her sobs for her straining muscles, and ignored her crying, well…

That was for me to know.

* * *

The weeks since the Simurgh hadn't been all nice surprises either. The first had come after I had gone through training with Emma, the other girl using her Kanohi for the first time. The second had come not long after Amy had returned from the Endbringer battle, with Sophia introducing us to a face I'd not expected to ever see again.

* * *

I dodged round another torrent of water, dragging the blade of my Freeze Spear along the body of liquid as I passed. Seeing the water freeze out the corner of my eye, I leapt up and over the ice, letting the follow-up attack slam harmlessly into the crystalline white surface.

In much the same way that Sophia had her weakness for electricity replaced with focused light, Emma's power had also undergone a subtle shift after her 'Linking'. She had sacrificed control over water in its frozen form, instead gaining an even greater degree of control over the liquid. So, while she may not be able to manipulate ice, she more than made up for it with her water attacks. Something that I was learning first-hand.

A fist of water appeared above me, and I threw myself into a roll, the Calix barely getting me out from under the guillotine in time. Using my forward momentum to my advantage, I flowed under another whip of water, catching the second on the shaft of my spear, dispersing the force as it crashed into me. My momentum briefly redirected by my block, I forced myself to continue my path, setting my feet in order to launch myself in a new direction.

Honestly, combat with Emma always came down to how fast I could close the distance, while in her case, it was how much she could wear me out before then. Despite the fact that Emma was no slouch in melee combat, her forte was in mid-range combat, in controlling the battlefield around her, and forcing me to react in certain ways. Of course, if I did manage to close, my own physical capabilities along with my multitude of Kanohi that allowed me to overwhelm her.

I briefly toyed with the idea of cloaking myself with the Huna, but gave it up as a waste of energy. I'd already tried that, and had been smacked down hard the second I'd thought she had lost track of me. And that didn't even take into account her Kanohi. The Kanohi Avsa; the Mask of Hunger was a somewhat vampiric mask, but was one of the best non-lethal takedown measures we had in our inventory at the moment. The Kanohi allowed the user to drain energy from their target of choice, leaving them lethargic and unwilling to fight. It was that effect I was fighting against right now.

My legs felt like jelly, and my arms could barely lift my spear. She was turning this into a battle of attrition, and it was one she would win. If I was to win this, I had to make a move before I had no energy left to even keep myself upright. Steadying myself, I called upon the power of the Kakama, and lunged.

Once again the world blurred around me as I accelerated. I blasted past Emma's hastily-erected wall, moving through it before the water even finished forming. I dropped out of my speed just outside Emma's reach, thrusting forward with my spear in order to encase her in ice, rendering her incapable of moving.

As I lunged, Emma darted back, using a combination of her speed and levitation panels to stay just outside of my reach. A wall of water sprang up between us, engulfing my spear's shaft, and I sprang back. As I moved however, my spear was ripped from my grip, pulling me off balance for the brief moment it took me to steady myself from the jolt.

Instead of the fluid consistency of the majority of her attacks, this one was hard water, causing my weapon to act as though it had been stuck in concrete. And with the blade of the spear untouched, the weapon would be unable to turn the water to ice, thus removing Emma's control and freeing the spear.

Smiling to myself at the ingenuity, I gave up the spear and called the Pakari, vaulting the wall instead of going around it as I normally would. I pushed off the solid water, aiming for Emma's armoured form… only to take an electrified chain directly to the face.

I tumbled head over heels, the uppercut sending me flying into the air as I fought to control my spin. The electrified chains were another thing I'd given Emma. With her combat training thus far being solely in her power, she found it difficult to wield any of the weapons I'd created with any ease. Until, that was, we found the chains I'd set aside for another project. With the ability to channel electricity through them via an act of will, I'd intended to use them as makeshift power lines for some of the larger projects I was working on.

It turned out Emma could use them fairly well. With their whip-like qualities it wasn't too hard to see why; her favourite attack was sending tendrils of water whipping through the air in order to cut off paths of retreat after all. If you added that to the fact that her water was able to conduct the electricity, then it really became a match made in heaven.

Of course, the finer points of her weaponry was lost on me as I continued my ascent. Finally managing to orient myself so that when I reached the ceiling, I was able to push off it, rather than crash into it ungracefully, I rocketed back down at my adversary, who simply raised a hand, fingers splayed, and waited. What she was doing quickly became apparent as my momentum slowed, then stopped entirely, leaving me hanging in the air not ten feet away, helpless.

"Okay, Emma." I grinned after a moment, turning my face toward her as best as I was able. "Nice job. I concede."

The second the words left my lips, I was gently set down on the ground, my body restored to my control once more. I pulled my spear out of the now liquid wall, planting it on the ground in order to keep my balance. I looked up at my friend, arms and legs trembling from their exertions.

"Nice trick at the end there. I hadn't even considered using the water in someone's body. I'm guessing that's how you always knew where I was?"

"Ah… Yes."

"Well good job. Really. I should have known the same trick wouldn't have worked twice."

Finally surrendering to gravity, I let my legs give out beneath me as I slumped to the floor, staring up at the ceiling on my back.

"A… are you okay Mistress?"

I'm fine Emma." I waved off her concerns, "I'm just trying to catch my breath."

I patted the floor beside me in invitation and slowly, hesitantly, Emma came over and laid down beside me. We laid there for a few moments, the pair of us catching our breath as we recovered from our spar. As I lay there panting, a thought crossed my mind, something that had been put off for far too long.

"Hey Emma, have you given any thought to your cape name yet?"

"Oh! Ah… Yes, I have."

"Did you decide anything?"

"Yes. I thought about it for a while. It's important after all. I finally came across one that suited me. Given what I am."

It was that sentence that should have set alarm bells ringing in my head. Instead, I asked her what name she'd chosen, unaware that her choice was undoing weeks of therapy in one fell swoop.

"Tuyet."

* * *

Despite myself, I shivered as a chill swept down my spine, making me look over my shoulder for an enemy that wasn't there. The name seemed familiar somehow, even though I was sure I hadn't heard it before today. I shook off the chill, congratulating my friend, unaware of the true nature of the name she'd taken on as her own.

"Can I ask you a question?"

' _You just did.'_

"Cute."

I sighed at the standard interaction between Lisa and Amy. It was almost like seeing two alpha males snap at each other, except this was a pair of smart-asses. While Lisa's shtick was in knowing something you didn't, or more often, something you didn't want other people to know, Amy had a voice dryer than the Sahara and a tongue sharper than a thresher when she put her mind to it.

What was somewhat hard to believe if you didn't know them was that it was because of this that I knew they really did like each other, as opposed to hating each other like it might come across as at first glance. It was because of the fact that all they did was snipe at each other that I knew this. Either of them had the potential to really say something harmful, but never used it, limiting themselves to smaller jabs that were easily brushed aside.

It was quite sweet really. From a certain point of view.

"But seriously, when I met you, you said you weren't a Toa because you were frail. I _touched you._ I know what's wrong with you. Why don't you ask me to heal you?"

I froze briefly despite my best efforts. This was something Amy and I had discussed. Amy was still new to us. If it seemed we liked her more for Panacea than we did Amy…

' _You're my friend.'_ Came the response. _'I didn't want it to seem that I only like Panacea and not Amy Dallon. I'm not friends with you just on the off chance you might heal me. I didn't want to make it seem like I was.'_

I sat, tense as we watched to see if she would accept the reasoning. This was tricky after all, and we didn't know if this would insult her, or if she'd just leave. Out the corner of my eye, I could see Emma had done her best to make herself as small as possible in order to stay out of the confrontation. Several more seconds passed as I waited with baited breath.

"You're an idiot." She huffed eventually, surprising everyone. Even Lisa looked surprised. For about half a second. "You're my friend. I don't mind healing my friends." She held out her hand to Lisa, who sat up with a smile on her face, a smile, not her customary smirk, and put her hand in Amy's bridging the distance between them.

Almost immediately I could see a difference in the way Lisa held herself. Before, she'd had to put most of her weight on the armrest, or the cushions, but now she was holding herself up, straighter than I'd ever seen her.

"I couldn't do anything about your voice." Amy said softly, almost apologetic, but Lisa just shook her head and smiled just as softly back. The blonde reached for her keyboard and was about to start typing when a priority message blinked up onto the screen. Instead of typing out her response, Lisa expanded the message so that it took up the entirety of the screen, making it easy to read:

' _You might want to mask up. I'm bringing in a stray. Get the MoM.'_

There was a moment during which nothing happened, a moment that all of us spent parsing through the message in our heads, trying to understand what it might mean. Then, we moved. Since we didn't know how long it would be until Sophia returned, it was best to assume we had little time. At my look, Emma jumped up from her seat, racing out the door to gather our helmets.

"Em-Oh-Em?"

The question came from Amy, staring up at the screen, her brow lightly furrowed in confusion.

"The Mask of Mutation." I clarified. "It means she has someone who needs healing." I elaborated at her look.

"But she knows I'm here." She protested, before her eyes widened in realisation, "Or did you not want me to use my-"

"Nothing like that." I cut her off hastily before she could get the wrong impression. "We just don't want people knowing you're here. I mean, it's somewhere you can be yourself right? A sanctuary of sorts. If we tell everyone and their mother that you're here, it stops being one. We don't want that."

I stood up, bending backwards, stretching as I rose. I made sure my Electro-Chute Spear was hanging from my hip and moved toward the door.

"Thank you."

I was stopped by the response, so quiet that if it had not been aimed at me, I would not have thought I was meant to hear it. I looked back over my shoulder and gave Amy a smile, putting all the warmth the response deserved into my words;

"You're our friend."

* * *

By the time Sophia returned we were all masked up, Amy in one of the spare helmets I kept aside for such an eventuality. We waited in the teleportation room, unwilling to let someone enter the base proper without first seeing who it was, despite the fact that she was escorted by Sophia. Emma stood behind me and to my left, as usual, and Lisa to my right. The blonde still carried her staff, despite not needing it to walk. She probably thought it made her look more impressive or something. Amy sat to my left, at the console, out of the line of fire if whoever was coming through attempted to take us all out at once.

Suddenly, without warning, one of the teleportation Kanoka set into the pad began to glow, a figure made of light appearing above it a moment later. When the glow dimmed enough for me to be able to see our guest, I was surprised to see I recognised them. The girl standing in front of me was the telekinetic I'd invited back to the base all those weeks ago. Before I could say anything, or even react to her appearance, Sophia appeared in a flash of light next to her, stepping off the pad before the light had even finished dimming.

"Welcome ba-"

My greeting was cut short as I properly took in the state of our guest. Her entire left side was charred, the clothes that had covered her little more than black rags on that side. The skin underneath was red, with blackened spots here and there where the damage had been the worst. Her hair was melted together on one side, and matted with soot on the other. She was gritting her teeth, and a half-melted sheet of metal was slung under her good arm, the tell-tale emerald lines criss-crossing the support were evidence of the fact she was using her power in order to stay upright.

With the pain she must be feeling, I couldn't blame her.

"Do I have your permission to heal you?"

 _Sorry Amy._

I really didn't want to rip off my friend's catchphrase, but I couldn't think of anything else to say. Every second I wasted was another where the girl was in pain, and I didn't really know how else to ask. I could feel the stare on the back of my head from Amy, and the amusement from Lisa, but I ignored them both in favour of keeping my eyes on the telekinetic. Her eyes opened wide in shock for a second before they clenched in pain once more.

"Yes."

The word was not so much spoken as it was hissed through her teeth as she ground them together. Quickly pacing forwards, I rested my hand on her good shoulder before I turned my attention to her injuries. Even though I could have healed her from my position across the room, I wanted to keep the range aspect of the mask a secret for now.

I concentrated, changing the burn tissue into healthy skin and muscle, using her good arm as a template. She winced as her skin bubbled and shifted under my ministrations, but she didn't move away. Once I was sure all the nerve endings had connected up properly, I took a step back, only realising then that Emma had kept pace with me as I'd moved to heal our guest.

"How is it?" I asked, somewhat worried I'd harmed her in some way.

She rolled her shoulders, blinking at the absence of pain. She flexed her fingers, making a fist, then touching each finger to her thumb before taking a few steps without issue. A relieved smile split her face as she stopped leaning on the sheet of metal, the floating object rising to hover just behind her shoulder.

"Thank you." She said, gratitude seeping from her voice. "That's two I owe you now." She stopped there, taking a furtive look in Sophia's direction before she turned back to me. "And speaking of owing you, I owe you an apology."

I blinked in surprise behind my helmet. Something must have shown in my body language, for she held her hands out before her in a pleading posture.

"You took me into your home for no other reason that I needed it. You didn't know who I was, just what I told you when we met. You gave me a bed, and food, and I spat on your hospitality by insulting your friend. For that I am sorry."

She bowed her head at her last word, almost looking like Emma as she did so. I blinked away my shock, rapidly thinking through her words.

"Ah, that's-"

"The way you treated me, like I was worth more than the sum of my powers, like I had worth as an individual, gave me a lot to think about. I won't use it as an excuse, but I was raised a, a Nazi. And I couldn't fathom why you, someone so nice, so giving would hang around with the likes of- with someone non-white."

I could physically see the moment she bit back the words she'd been about to say, the snarl that twisted her lips as she re-thought her speech. It was something I'd not even considered before. The parents may be racist in the way the term was really used, may be bigots. But the children? If you taught a child growing up that the sky was green and the grass blue, that became truth for them. The children of these people didn't know that the views they held as truths were wrong. It didn't make their racism any more acceptable, but it was at least understandable. If they had been taught by their parents that anyone not of 'their race' was 'the enemy', then was it any wonder they grew up spouting the same views? Especially if the entire community was the same way, where was any other outside view going to get heard? They would grow up thinking that was the way the world was.

"But the longer I spent alone on the streets, the more I began to realise I was wrong. Many of the people that reached out a hand to me in support were Black, or even Asian. It's funny really. Those that said they would have my back and support me abandoned me at the first opportunity, where those I'd always been told were worthless were the first ones to help me. It really does wonders for a girl's worldview. And then there's Shadow Stalker over there."

I looked to where Sophia leaned against the wall, seemingly unconcerned with the conversation. I had wondered why she continued to seek out the one who had insulted her so. It was out of character for her. Well, out of character before we had realised the effects my Linking had on Parahumans.

"Of everyone, she was the person I could shake the least. Sometimes she would bring me food, and we'd talk. Sometimes we'd fight, and I would lose each time. But each time, after she left, I would feel guiltier, more unsure of myself. I wanted to return, to apologise to you for what I did, what I said, before it became too late. I guess I was a coward."

Her voice dropped at the end, the self-recriminating tone clear for everyone to hear. But that didn't explain why she was here now, why she had been so injured. I had an idea, but I didn't want to voice it for fear of my suspicions being true.

"So what happened? Why are you here?"

The question was asked by Amy, sitting off to the side, leaning forward in her chair, her chin resting on her fist as she stared intently at the girl before her.

"What happened?" The girl echoed, the laugh filled with no humour.

"Lung happened."

I closed my eyes, my shoulders slumping as my worst fears were confirmed. Suicide by Cape. If first her family had abandoned her, then those she was supposed to call comrades, and after she alienated those who held out a hand in support, it was not inconceivable she would think she had nowhere else to go. I knew that feeling. The crushing powerlessness, the inability to change your own fate. It was a cloying fear that never really vanished, the memory of shadows clinging to you even if you managed to rise above it.

"I was staying in ABB territory. I didn't want to come up against any of the Empire's people, and I thought, where else was better to hide than in the lair of the enemy? But he found me. I was stealing scraps from a stall when his goons spotted me. And Lung _really_ doesn't like anyone stealing from him. I managed to stick a few lampposts into him before he ramped up too far, but if it wasn't for Shadow Stalker, I'd be dead. We had an argument, I told her why I'd been avoiding you, and here I am. I owe you. And I'd like to help you, if you'll have me."

I shook my head in consternation. I supposed I'd be getting used to picking up strays by now. I sighed and quickly flicked my fingers in a pre-arranged motion, and a few seconds later, a yes/no box appeared on my visor. Lisa had used her Kanohi to send the question through the systems, allowing all of us to make the decision on whether she could stay anonymously. As I'd said to Amy before. This was a sanctuary for all of us. I wasn't about to jeopardise that. I chose my decision with my eyes, and waited for the rest of the room to vote.

Five seconds later, the screen changed to the tally screen; three yes's, one no and one absentee. I smiled at the decision, although no-one could see it.

"Very well." I declared, seeing the relief almost flood through her body. "Welcome to the motley crew. There's a few rules we'll have to get straight before we can truly accept you, but first, why don't you give us your name?"

"Cassandra Herren." She offered, before she screwed up her features in thought.

"But she died that night in the fire. I don't think I want to be that person any more. I want to change."

She stood, silent, head down in thought, as the rest of us waited for her decision. After a few seconds, she raised her head, looking straight at me.

"Call me Stephanie."

* * *

"No Dad, I haven't finished it yet. I have been working on id don't worry. I'm looking forward to riding it, it's just things keep interrupting me. Yes, I know. Uh-huh."

I smiled as I spoke to my dad over the phone. He was worried that I hadn't taken his concerns over my priorities into consideration, even though the half-built frame in my workshop proved otherwise.

"No, I'm not in trouble, and neither are the others. We just seem to keep picking up strays is all. We're just getting them settled in. after they know what they've let themselves in for, I'll be able to devote more time to it. Anyway, that's enough about me. How was your day?"

I looked over the room at my friends as I listened to my dad's voice. Sophia and Emma were explaining out rules, our code to Stephanie, Emma having not-so-subtly interposed herself between the newcomer and myself. Over on another sofa, Lisa was attempting to teach Amy sign language. Given she was mute, it would be important to learn so we could communicate with her more efficiently, rather than waiting for her to write or type everything she wanted to say when she was unmasked.

After wishing my dad a good night and apologising that I wouldn't be home for dinner, I put my phone back in my pocket and stood, moving over to the three clustered around the small table in the middle of the room. I'd not moved so much as three paces before the alarms went off again. But this time it was the base alert, not the Endbringer alarm. We all froze for a second in shock, before Lisa shook herself out of her stupor, calling on the power of her Kanohi to identify the source of the alert. I too reached out with my power, feeling for any disturbance in the base through my gear, and what I found shocked me.

One of the teleportation Kanoka had been activated from _outside_. That was impossible. Only myself, and those I linked to, knew how to use my tech. it wasn't like this was one of the Kanoka I'd used to teleport dad and the Dockworkers at my debut, or the Kanoka that sat inside my dad's watch. They could be used by anyone, simply containing the power that I'd fused it with. But the Kanoka that made up our teleportation network were different. They had to be activated manually, with an act of will. I wasn't stupid enough to leave teleportation pads around where anyone could use them. There would be chaos.

I looked up as the screen blinked to life over our heads. Sure enough, there was a figure I'd never seen before stepping off the pad, looking around in curiosity. He was around my height, with pale skin and hair so blonde it almost shone gold. He had bright blue eyes and a sculpted physique, more of a sprinter or a swimmer than a bodybuilder, he was lean rather than big, the muscles pushing against his shirt but not threatening to tear it. He looked to be around my age, but his curiosity made him seem younger as he gazed around with wide eyes.

The information flew through my mind in the span of half a second, and before I knew it I was barking orders.

"Fragarach, take the console and get the defences online. Stephanie, Green, go with her. Shadow Stalker, Tuyet, you're with me."

The six of us split up, three flashes of light enveloping myself, Sophia and Emma as our armour formed around us. We raced through the corridors toward the teleportation room, questions running through my mind all the while.

I made a slashing motion with my hand, Shadow Stalker shifting to shadow and lunging through the wall even as we continued to run. A handful of seconds later, Tuyet and I burst through the door to the teleportation room, startling the intruder.

"Don't move!" I barked, pulling my spear as I felt Tuyet settle into her stance behind me, the sound of crackling electricity heralding her own preparations. A split second later, Shadow Stalker tumbled out of the wall in a roll, placing herself between the boy and the teleportation pad, a Kanoka already loaded and pointed at his back.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?"

It wasn't a question. It was an order. Anger and fear shot through me in equal amounts. If there was some flaw with my tech, I needed to figure it out, and fast. I'd thought that I was the only one able to use my tech, and those I linked with. If someone could subvert that…

"Uhh, they said to call me Isacc."

His voice was twisted in confusion, almost as though he couldn't fathom why we were so hostile. It had to be a trick. I tensed, waiting for him to continue. The longer he spoke, the more information Fragarach had to pull from, so for now, I was buying time.

"And I got in the same way I'm assuming you did. I used the teleportation Kanoka. They didn't tell you I was coming?"

I froze. _How did he know what they were called?_ This was something more dangerous than a random passerby using my tech. some sort of power copier? I ran through the ramifications in my head. Of all the things I'd assumed were under my control, suddenly far less secure than they were a minute ago. I was in such a panic, it took a second for the latter half of his sentence to filter through my awareness.

"Wait. We were supposed to be expecting you?"

"You were supposed to." He blinked, "They must have forgotten. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to panic you."

I dropped my stance, but kept myself tense inside my armour, ready to strike. He really did seem apologetic, and the [Truth] that flashed up on my HUD curtesy of Fragarach lent credence to that idea. Still, we needed more information.

"Who's they?"

"Oh, Alexandria and Eidolon."

 _What._

"Why would Alexandria send you to me? And for that matter how did you get in? Even if you know what the Kanoka are, only those I link with can use them."

He seemed to understand my worry now, his eyes widening slightly even as he let out an 'ah' of comprehension.

"Don't worry. That's still true. I got in because I can use Kanoka without your power. No-one else on this planet can do that."

That was something at least, but didn't really answer any of my questions, just made new ones. It was his next statement however, that _really_ set me on edge.

"But as for why Alexandria would send me, well I'm where your power came from."

* * *

 **So yup, have fun with that. But there's one more chapter, then after that we get the finale of the arc, Finally. And with that, Forging will come to a close. So I'll see you for the next one!**


	12. Interlude 3

Okay, so sorry for the delay, but life happened to the laptop.  
*sigh*  
So while I get it fixed, here's an unplanned interlude, written on the iPad.  
Please point out any spellings, writing on one of these things is a pain.

It's short, but gets across the fact I'm not abandoning this.

The Masks We Wear  
Worm/Bionicle  
Interlude 3

Garan dodged to the side as the lightning speared through the space he had been standing in only a moment before. Dirt flew as he planted his feet, steadying himself as he crossed his Pulse Bolt Generators, the white bolt of energy crossing the space between himself and his target in an instant.

Behind him, Balta crossed his blades, the Repellers reflecting the lightning back at their opponent. The chain lightning split off his friend's blades, rushing toward him once more. Before it had even crossed half the distance, his own attack intercepted the crackling energy, the attack missing him by a hair's breadth, his world turning white as it flashed by his face.

Balta dug in his feet, straining against the lightning as a third chain split off his blades, the repelled attack ran parallel to the first, blowing the silver Rahkshi away, the armour twitching with the after-effects as the Kraata slithered feebly out of the helmet, only to die as Garan crushed it beneath his heel.

The two Matoran panted, gathering their breath, as Garan considered a time when fighting a Rahkshi would have been unimaginable. It was only due to his time fighting the Piraka, and the long, hard months of experience since the war had started, that gave him what was needed to stand up to his foes now.

What he and Balta had just executed was an attack chain specifically designed to bring low the chain lightning breed of Rahkshi. It was something learned through painful observation and bitter experience. The absence of Kazi and Piruk at his side stood testament to that fact.

Sharing a nod with Balta, the two set off at a run toward their two remaining teammates, the brown form of Velika almost a blur as Dalu boosted his speed, the Po-Matoran taking advantage of his teammate's assistance to deprive the Rahkshi of their limbs, leaving their Kraata to spill out onto the hard-packed ground.

Around them, chaos raged.

The island of Odina had once been the headquarters of the mercenary organisation known as the Dark Hunters. The six Skakdi he and his friends had faced had once been part of the organisation, but today, the Bounty Hunters and the Matoran fought alongside each other, united against a common enemy.

In the first weeks of the war, the former island of the Dark Hunters had been overrun by the forces of the Makuta, Rahkshi of every hue swarming the defences and contouring the island with ease. They faced minimal resistance. With their fortress destroyed by the Toa Nuva of Stone and their enemy possessing a nigh infinite number of troops, the Dark Hunters had already abandoned the island before the first Rahkshi stepped onto the shore.

Today however, was set to change that. In a concentrated effort to disrupt the Makuta's plans, the resistance had set to strike a number of targets concurrently. Whilst his control over the universe had improved, the Makuta still found it difficult to focus that attention on more than one target, hence the simultaneous attacks. The hope was that losing so many key positions at once would set back whatever plans the Makuta had set in motion. What those other positions were, Garan did not know.

Odina was chosen as a target for its status as the former Headquarters of the Dark Hunters, as well as the large number of Rahkshi left on the island. The purpose of this particular attack was three-fold; First, the loss of such a large number of Rahkshi within a small time frame would helpfully blind the Makuta for a brief time, granting the resistance more leeway in their movements. Second, there were weapons and artefacts that the Dark Hunters had left behind in their flight from the island, objects that the resistance hoped would prove valuable to their ongoing efforts. Third was the location. Being the easternmost point of the universe, Odina was out of the way of many of the usual transportation routes used by the rest of the universe. This meant that it was obvious when a large force was approaching the island. If they were able to retake the Dark Hunter's former headquarters, the island would be a good staging ground for resupplying forces moving between the northern and southern continents.

Garan continued his charge, Dalu and Velika falling into step beside himself and Balta as streams of elemental energy and energy blasts flew by overhead. Joining the charge up to the remains of the Fortress, he winced as the leading Toa of Ice was blown apart by a Rahkshi of Shattering, the brown armour in turn bought down by a snarling Hordika, his claw scything through the Protosteel armour like it was water, leaving the Makuta's spawn in two pieces on the ground.

Vaulting over what was once the perimeter wall, the Matoran followed a Dark hunter further into the remains of the Fortress. Their guide never seemed to stay in one form for long, one second a Nui Rama, the next a Kikanalo, using his shape shifting to go over or through obstacles as needed.

After what seemed like hours, although what was probably only minutes, the five found themselves at the heart of the fortress, the shapeshifter immediately making a beeline for a blank wall. Lifting a paw, he pushed a single brick, the section giving way and opening up a hidden chamber which he quickly disappeared inside, the door closing behind him.

Sharing a look with his teammates, Garan moved deeper into the room, hearing the others fan out behind him. Moving over cracked stone, be made his way toward the back of the room, where the remains of a grand throne stood. Hopping up onto the throne for a better view over the back of the destroyed chair, Garan dislodged a part of the backrest, the weakened stone tumbling down to the armrest. It hit the throne proper, eliciting a click that caused the four Matoran to freeze with caution.

A rumbling sound caused all the Matoran to back swiftly away from the throne as the wall behind it split open, revealing a single stasis tube. A stasis tube with a figure inside.

"Is that?" Balta began in awe, staring up into the pristine glass.

"Yes. It's a Toa." Garan confirmed, staring up into the Calix, the mask reminding him of the Toa of Fire, Jaller, that had helped them save their home. "Quick, help me get them out of there."

His friend jumped up onto the back of the throne, bracing himself as Garan pulled the lever set onto the side of the stasis tube. There was a hiss of displaced air as the tube powered down, the limp form of the Toa falling into Balta's arms a second later.

The Toa groaned, but any further discourse was interrupted as the wall on their left exploded in a shower of stone, the broken form of a Klakk falling to the ground on the opposite side of the room.

The Matoran were sent flying like leaves in a storm, clattering against the walls and floor as the fragments pelted their armour. Disoriented, Garan picked himself up, shaking his head in an attempt to stop the ringing in his ears. Once he'd finally found his feet, he looked around the room for his friends, instead freezing at the sight before him.

He recognised the figure immediately. Who wouldn't? By now everyone know of the legendary Toa of light, Takanuva. Except this wasn't him. Not in the strictest sense. Another Matoran, Mazeka, had told the resistance of the Shadow Takanuva; the Toa plucked from their homes and corrupted, forced to fight in the Makuta's army. Instead of the white and gold of the Toa of Light, their armour was as black as the night, and they wielded the power of shadow, showing no quarter.

Before him stood such a being.

Instead of being all black, this Toa's armour had patches of silver, the Avohkii, chest plate and shoulder pauldrons gleaming in the low light. Regardless of the differences however, this was no Toa of Light. Even now, he could see the shadow energy swirling in his hand.

He braced himself for a fight, preparing to cross his blades when the Takanuva cried out;

"Behind you!"

Flinching backwards at the Takanuva's step forward, Garan realised the words he had spoken too late. Before he could react, a burning pain erupted in his chest as his breath was robbed from him.

"NO!"

"GARAN!"

Hearing Balta and Dalu's shouts as if from a great distance, Garan slowly looked down at his chest, only to see a crackling blade of red-black energy protruding just below his heartlight.

The power of shadow.

Craning his neck, his gaze met the crimson glare of the figure behind him, the black Avokhii almost touching his own Ruru as he peered into his killer's eyes.

"Out of the way kofo." The Shadow Takanuva sneered, "The big boys are playing."

The energy abruptly disappeared, leaving Garan to slump to the floor as the Takanuva stepped over him. Through the darkening edges of his vision, Garan watched the two Takanuva exchange bolts of shadow, and was that light from the silver one? The pair deflecting or dodging each attack that was flung their way, both equally matched.

Garan felt more than saw Balta, Dalu and Velika make it to his side, as hands pressed down on his wound, and he smiled opening his mouth to reassure his friends, before he knew no more.

* * *

Okay, so just something I've whipped up quick since I don't have my notes, a small look as to the state of the MU. Hopefully this can tide you over until I get the next part up, but rewriting takes a while. Ciao!


	13. Forging 110

The author uses Necro! It's Super Effective!

Okay, not much to say here really other than summer sucked, but what can you do? Anyway, we're back in the groove now, and a bunch of stuff is now straight in my head where it wasn't before, so that's something at least.

I can only offer my apologies.

Anyway, writing 'till something's done seems to be working better, and it means I don't have to push to meet self-imposed quotas so eh? Progress? But I'm in my final year of Uni now, so that means Dissertation writing. Yay. So I may be sporadic when these things come out as most of my writing time will be on that.

Anyway, without further ado, Chapter 13

The Masks We Wear Chapter 13

Worm/Bionicle

Forging 1.10

"Explain."

The word was issued from my mouth before I'd even realized it. The words the boy in front of me -Isaac, I reminded myself, had spoken were so stunning that I responded on autopilot, the strategist in me needing all the information at my disposal. This was something so far out of left field, the furthest thing I expected to hear from someone who had infiltrated our base, past all the security measures and defenses I could come up with, was that he was the one who had given me my powers.

Was that even possible?

A part of me railed at the thought. That what I'd been through, what I'd survived, meant nothing? That while I and hundreds, thousands of others had to be tortured, broken until we gained powers, that there was someone who handed them out like candy, that there were those who came by their powers the easy way?

No.

I refused to accept it.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story..." Isaac began, before trailing off as I straightened in annoyance, holding his hands out in a placating manner, "Okay, okay, brief version then."

He sighed, running his hand through his hair before he continued.

"When I was exiled from my Universe by the Makuta, the one I fought against, the Great Spirit, our God if you will, was forced into my body and together, we were launched into space."

"You're an alien!?"

The outburst came from behind me, Shadow Stalker staring in shock at what, by all appearances, was a teenage Human boy.

"No offense, but I find that a little hard to believe," I said cautiously, "You look perfectly normal to me."

Isaac shook his head, a derisive tone entering his voice at my observation.

"Please." He snorted, amusement coloring his words even as he sneered at us. "This is nothing. You should have seen what I could do in my old body. Making something like this is no problem. But where was I? Oh yeah, exile."

Completely ignorant to the concerned looks we shot each other, Isaac continued his story.

"So yeah, exile. Mata Nui and I were exiled from the universe, being two of the beings that could possibly interfere the most with Makuta's control over the Universe, and with us gone, he wouldn't have to worry about us until he was good and ready to crush us under his heel. So we drifted through space until we found our way to your system, and eventually crashed on your planet, where we found that our arrival hadn't been as inconspicuous as we might have hoped."

No.

No!

It couldn't be! It just _couldn't!_

"After I'd made a body for us, I was forced to step back, because Mata Nui's will was greater than my own, but anyway… Just a short distance from the crater we'd crawled out of, was a small lifeform, barely moving. When we moved to get a better look, it turned out to be Taylor here."

I stiffened at the sound of my name, even as denial coursed through my body. I had _earned_ my powers dammit!

"So seeing that we'd nearly almost killed her, we healed her back to peak condition, and we took a look at the world through her perspective."

It took a moment for that to make it through the maelstrom of my thoughts.

"Did you _read my mind!?"_ Outrage quickly replaced denial as my grip tightened on my spear, a soft rushing sound behind me telling of the way Tuyet's control on her power had slipped in her anger.

"Of course," Isaac replied, looking at me like one would when having to answer an obvious question. "how else were we to learn about your world? And anyway, it's not like it wasn't within my power back then. I had control over all _Life."_ He boasted, "Something like converting the pulsed from your brain into the memories they represented wasn't exactly difficult."

I grit my teeth in anger as I prevented myself from throwing myself at him. I got the feeling he had no idea of what social graces were, but I needed him to answer my questions, so I needed him conscious. For now at least.

"But anyway, what we saw in your mind concerned us as much as it relieved us. Undefeatable monsters? These innumerable 'Villains' that plague your daily lives? Your world is in a sorry state indeed. But it also presented us with an opportunity."

"We had no idea what state our universe would be in when we return, or even if we _can_ return. We don't know if our friends, our allies are capable of holding out, so we need to help them. And since your people already had powers, we thought you might be able to help. In return, we would rid your world of these 'Endbringers'."

"Now, he needed a bit of convincing, he didn't want to get your world caught up in our war. But after pointing out Makuta would be coming after us either way, and it would be better if you were warned rather than not, he understood."

My thoughts ground to a halt at his words, and I heard Shadow Stalker choke beside me. He thought he could kill the Endbringers? Not just that, but in such a casual way, as though it was a foregone conclusion? There was no way? How powerful was this guy?

"But before we could do that, we needed an advocate from the local populace, someone who could vouch for us. So we looked to you, and found you worthy."

"Worthy?"

The words erupted from my lips before I could stop them. I cringed at the desperation in them, the pleading, for my new start in life to have more meaning than being a hand-out, more than some sort of charity case.

"Well yes. You didn't think we'd give the power of creation to just anyone after all?"

The relief that flooded through my system was all-consuming. I wasn't some afterthought, not just some number in a line of people to be gifted. My power had meaning, and there was meaning in the gift. I had my power because of who I was. I wasn't who I was because of my power.

"-about Alexandria?"

I refocused on the conversation as Shadow Stalker's words pierced through the film of my euphoria. Shaking my head slightly, I turned my attention fully back to the conversation.

"Well after we had healed and gifted Taylor, this glowing door opened right in front of us. Before we could do anything about it, we were hit in the back and pushed through. When we managed to get back on our feet, we saw three people in front of us. Warriors calling themselves Alexandria, Eidolon, and Contessa."

I blinked. Contessa? Not Legend?

"They quickly figured out we were not a threat and sat down to interrogate us. They asked us what we meant for your world, and what we had already done here."

I stiffened.

Did that mean that the Protectorate already knew who I was? I'd taken great pains to separate my identities. And with me disagreeing so publically with the Protectorate, it wasn't impossible that there were a fair few people that were upset with me. Luckily, before I could devolve into a panic, Isaac spoke again.

"After learning from your memories that the warriors of your world chose to hide behind aliases, we did not tell then your name, something they argued, but for a moment. We explained our own plans for your world and the state of our own universe. Other things were said, that is not relevant for the moment, but it was eventually decided that using their portal user we would be sent to the place where we could be the most effective at fighting Makuta. I... instead, I chose to stay, to leave my old body to Mata Nui and assist you."

"Why?"

I asked suspiciously after a moment of silence. "Why leave your old body, your old power, behind? You said you had control over life itself? Why give that up?"

He sighed for a moment, curling in on himself slightly as he turned his gaze toward the ground. It was the first time he had looked anything other than confident. In fact, he looked… ashamed?

He sighed, fiddling with the hem of his shirt as he gathered the confidence to speak.

"Look, I had power, yes... but I only was used for one purpose every couple thousand years if at all. I used to be the Kanohi Ignika, the Mask of Life."

I just stared at his proclamation, a flat 'what' coming from behind me being Shadow Stalker's response.

"As a Kanohi, I was not supposed to be using my own power. I was sentient, yes but I didn't have my own Destiny, only my Duty. I was to be used by a Toa to restore the life-force of the Great Spirit Mata Nui, using the Toa's own life-force in the process."

 _What._

He was talking about human sacrifice.

"Why?"

"Because our universe would have died without it."

His blunt response to my question was enough to rock me back on my heels. That their Great Spirit, their God, would need one of his followers to sacrifice themselves to keep himself, and everyone else, alive? I couldn't understand it.

"Thankfully, it only happened twice. The first time was uneventful, the Toa retrieved me from my resting place, took me to the center of the universe, and I used one of their number to restore Mata Nui's life."

"The second time," He continued, looking pained, "was not as easy."

"The second time, Mata Nui was dying. And the entire universe with him."

…

There was a pause, a moment that seemed to stretch for eternity, as the implications settled in.

"The entire universe?"

My voice was dry, horror at the situation making my voice weak, my grip on my spear tightening as my fist trembled.

"Yes. All we knew was in peril. It did not help matters that bands of mercenaries and warlords wanted to steal my power for themselves. They were stopped by another band of Toa, and one among their number used my power willingly, despite knowing what it would mean to do so. He died, and in his final moments, used my power to not only save our universe but his friends too, from certain death."

"I knew much of him, unlike his predecessor. I had tested him multiple times along his journey, as a stranger in the dark, and with the power he himself wielded. He impressed me at every turn. And as such, his sacrifice inspired me to become more than just a mask. So when more Toa arrived to awaken Mata Nui from his injury-induced sleep, I created a body and fought with them, doing my best to honor the memory of the one who had sacrificed himself for everyone, even those he did not know."

"But when the moment came, when I completed my task and sacrificed my body to awaken Mata Nui, to repay my debt, it was all for naught. The entire thing was a trick. Mata Nui's injuries, his sleep, all caused by one being, the one called Makuta. During our final desperate race to save Mata Nui, Makuta usurped his place in the universe, and when we awoke the Great Spirit, it was not Mata Nui who looked down on us, but Makuta."

He looked at me then, his eyes burning with the fire of his determination, shadowed by regret and guilt.

"So when I was given a second chance, to become part of something that will atone for my mistakes, to make sure Matoro's death was not in vain? Then you can be sure I took it."

* * *

I was sitting on the sofa at home, sipping a mug of steaming tea, the steam wafting up and over my nose as I tried to come to terms with the things Isaac had told us earlier today. Learning that I wasn't a Parahuman had come as a shock, certainly, but nothing compared to the knowledge that my powers had been granted to me by a being that was effectively a God. Well, that and that I now had effectively the fates of _two_ worlds on my shoulders. No pressure.

I was broken out of my thoughts by my dad sitting down next to me, his own steaming mug resting on the table in front of us. Sighing, I placed my own half-drained drink next to his and burrowed into his side.

"Long day?" He huffed lightly as I dug a little too sharply into his side, grinning even as he shifted slightly in order to get comfortable, the smell of the ocean and coffee drifting from his clothes.

"You could say that." I acquiesced, closing my eyes as images of the day flashed before me. "It was more of a heavy day. I found out some… things today. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it."

He hummed, sending tremors through his chest and up through my sinuses. There was a moment of silence as we just sat together, reveling in the closeness that had been absent for so long.

"You can only do what you think is right."

I sat up, pulling myself from the warmth of his side as I looked him in the eye, a wordless request to explain filling my eyes as he gazed fondly down at me.

"It's what you've been doing so far, and you don't seem to be doing too badly."

His words hiked up into a teasing tone at the end, flowing into a chuckle as I huffed and shoved him good-naturedly, fighting the grin that was determined to show on my lips.

"But seriously." He continued, the levity draining from his voice, though the warmth stayed. "There is often no right or wrong answer to any of life's problems. The world wants us to believe that we can see things in black and white when it's only ever shades of grey. You've proved that with the things you pointed out about the Protectorate. It's easy to look back at things and say 'I should have done things differently', but hindsight is always 20/20. As long as you do what you believe is right at the time, then at least you won't regret your decisions."

"Wow, Dad." I teased, a grin tugging at my lips, "Since when did you become such a wise guy?"

He snorted, smushing my face with a cushion even as I giggled.

After I managed to catch my breath and had clawed the cushion away from my face, certain words rang in my ears, and doubt reared its head once more. He didn't… did he?

"Dad?" I asked, my voice timid, my insecurities roiling in my gut. "What shade of grey am I?"

He smiled, putting an arm around my shoulders even as I curled in on myself.

"Taylor…" He sighed, "You're a lighter shade of grey. Don't worry."

I sniffled as he mussed my hair, the weight of the day finally seeming to lift free from my shoulders.

"But that's enough Cape stuff and questioning life for one day. We have to prepare for next week."

"Next week?" I asked, searching my memories for anything that was happening next week.

"Yes. Don't tell me you forgot?" He grinned, eyes dancing with mirth.

"Daaad!" I growled, eye twitching at his amusement.

"Next week you go back to school."


	14. Forging 1-11

**A/N: My God, it's been a while eh? No, I'm not dead, though I wish I was sometimes. Biochem is not my friend it seems.**  
 **Ah well, at least it seems I have a few weeks free, so I can get around to finishing up the arc for what it matters.**  
 ***sigh* Let's get on with it then.**

The Masks We Wear Chapter 14

Worm/Bionicle

Forging 1.11

I thought that going back to school would bring me a measure of relief from all the cape drama of the past few months.

I was wrong.

Beyond the quickly-aborted scuffle before school between members of the E88 and the ABB, only prevented due to the timely appearance of a patrol car, there was an aura around Winslow. A miasma that seemed to settle down on all that walked through the gates, bending their backs in defeat or forcing them to remain forever alert.

Even I, as a Toa, wasn't immune.

I sat in the middle of the classroom, Sophia behind me and Emma to my right. The classroom could be clearly divided into three distinct sections; the Empire on the right, the Asians on the left and the rest of us in the middle. With the tensions between the two gangs at the highest I'd ever seen them, it was less of a classroom and more like the theatre of a cold war, with those not affiliated with any side in the no-mans-land in the middle.

It was, in a word, distracting.

Not good for an educational establishment, I reflected sardonically as I listened to Mr. Gladly ' _Call me Mr. G!'_ as he continued to enlighten us as to the effect the appearance of Behemoth had on the world scene. It was fascinating stuff. Really. Unfortunately, I was unable to really pay attention as my instincts were screaming at me.

Being between two of the largest gang factions in the city wasn't exactly doing wonders for my stress levels, even if it wasn't a battle. I twitched at every sudden move, scrutinized every glance sent my way, constantly aware of everyone in the room.

Hanging around with Lisa had made me more observant of my surroundings and the people around me, even out of battle. I couldn't replicate her trick of pulling someone's life history from coffee stains on their shirt, but I was able to make deductions, enough to gain an idea of a person's leanings. I was using those skills in abundance today.

The boy closest to the front, just inside my peripheral vision; running his hand through his close-cropped hair, a new recruit to the Empire, not yet used to his new hairstyle.

His Asian counterpart over on the other side of the room held his foot strangely, balancing on the inside of his sole as though it was uncomfortable placing it flat; knife hidden on outside of his foot, within his shoe.

The girl one seat behind and two over, rubbing her arm in annoyance before catching herself and going back to drumming her fingers on the desktop, new tattoo, empire leanings.

I breathed an internal sigh of relief as the bell finally rang for lunch, the entire class scrambling for their belongings as the scraping of chairs resounded throughout the room. I ignored Gladly's parting comments, making sure I didn't get separated from Emma and Sophia in the crush as we all forced our way out the door.

There was only the three of us at Winslow. Out of the seven of us, Lisa already had her GED, Isaac didn't technically exist, it would be dangerous for Stephanie to go out in public since she was presumed dead, and Amy went to Arcadia. That last one was technically irrelevant for today's purposes, as Arcadia was closed until next week. Some sort of plumbing issue or such. The best school in the city, and it couldn't even pay for decent pipes!? That left the three of us.

We allowed ourselves to be carried along with the rush of people as we made our way to the cafeteria. We'd just sat down when the room started to rapidly empty. I blinked, surprised for a second. There wasn't any signal given, nor any other reason why a large number of students seemed to have decided to just up and leave. Until I started seeing similarities.

The vast number of those leaving, but not all, were male. And all, bar none, were either white or Asian.

"Oh for God's sake." I muttered, resigning myself to a less than relaxing day. My words caught the attention of both Emma and Sophia, the pair turning from the procession of students back to me.

"What?" asked Sophia, her brow creased in confusion.

"It seems," I sighed, "that there'll be a fight relatively shortly." I elaborated, nodding toward the door as I spoke.

The light of comprehension bloomed in Sophia's eyes, even as Emma's eyes widened ever so slightly. Sophia looked back just as the last person left, the door swinging shut behind them.

"And we're stuck unable to do shit huh?" she groaned, leaning back heavily into her chair, her arms lying limp at her sides.

"Yeah. Looks that way. Either way, it's not like we can-"

I was cut off as my phone started to vibrate. Not my personal phone, but the burner ones we'd all bought to serve as our Cape phones. Normally they were turned off, making it harder to track them, and they only turned on when the user manually did it, or they received a call from one of the other phones. That meant only one thing.

Fishing my earphones out of my pocket, I plugged them into the jack on my phone, then pressed the answer button, all without removing the phone from my pocket.

"Go ahead."

"There's a large number of Empire and ABB thugs heading toward the school. Anything strange happened recently?"

I looked toward the doors, responding to Lisa's question with a sardonic, "You could say that."

"Great, just great. They're really pulling all the stops for this huh? Anything that could explain this? Fights, unexplained absences, ruined-"

"Fight. This morning before school." I answered, cutting Lisa off before she could devolve onto a tangent, "Aborted, Police car rolled up before it could really get going."

I heard Lisa curse over the line at the same moment that the first gunshots echoed through the walls. Screaming echoed around me as I threw myself to the floor, Sophia and Emma joining me a split second later.

"What's happening?" I made sure to speak directly into the mic in order to make sure Lisa heard me over the panicking students.

"Fight starts at the beginning of the day, you said it was stopped, so whatever started it didn't get resolved. Nazi bonehead A calls up his older brother, whips up a few more of the 'cause' to get their point across better when the fight restarts. The backup arrives ahead of schedule, loiters round the gates for a while, and is spotted by the ABB in the school. ABB bonehead B calls up _their_ backup, the Nazis see them, call for more backup and it all snowballs. So what was meant to be a few extra Nazis at a schoolyard fight ends up…"

"Ends up as a fully-fledged gang fight. Great."

Normally neither of the gangs would have the balls to pull something like this so close to a school. Even if it was Winslow. I guess the tension between them must have escalated to the point where they couldn't be seen to back down anymore. Typical.

"What's the status of the Protectorate?" I muttered, making sure to let my hair cover my face to hide my words. If we could ride this out, that would be preferable. We could only field half the team, so it would be preferable to be expecting backup.

"No luck on that one." Came the response, "Lung's been facing down the Empire down on Lexington, pretty much the entire roster has been fielded, even if the Nazis are pulling back, and the Wards are running crowd control. They may be able to spare some, but I wouldn't count on it."

"Just brilliant."

I followed the flood of students out the door, tossing out a command for the rest of the team to mobilize before I thumbed the end call button on my phone and tucked it, and my headphones, back in my pocket. While the three of us inside the school were prevented from taking action by the presence of so many witnesses, those of us outside the school weren't hampered by such restraints. Unfortunately, as it stood, that meant only they were going to be able to respond to the situation. As incompetent as the Winslow staff were when it came to gang matters, they would surely take a headcount of those students that were participating in the evacuation, and if we wanted to escape the scrutiny of being thought part of a gang, we'd need to stay in sight at all times.

Sure enough, the teachers overseeing the evacuation made eye contact with me several times as we moved through the hallways, as though to check I was still there. I could only assume it was happening for all the students.

Being fitter, and therefore faster than your average high-schooler, the three of us forged our way through the crowd, joining the people streaming out through the gym doors onto the field, the furthest point away from the fight. Ahead of us, those of us who had left the cafeteria first was almost to the edge of the grass. It looked like the evacuation was going smoothly, which meant we could hopefully sneak away and-

My head snapped to the side as the sound of smashing glass reached my ears, the distinctive sound of gunfire sounding not a second later. Zeroing in on the sound, I managed to see a bleeding ABB thug flatten himself against a dumpster even as a pair of E88 skinheads fired over their own cover, the bullets slamming into the dumpster, smashing the already-broken windows resting within.

Predictably, the second the sound of gunfire reached the rest of the students, pandemonium erupted. Growing up in Brockton Bay, gang violence was a fact of life. But it was one thing to know that academically, yet another to have a gunfight erupt close enough to kill you.

The students closer to the edge of the field started to sprint for the safety of the buildings ringing the grass, while the students closer to me started the crush moving back toward the school. Spinning on my heel, I dropped low and ran back toward the campus, feeling Sophia and Emma drop into their places beside me as we made a beeline for the safety of the school.

Ignoring the crush at the gym doors, I led us around the side of the building, crashing through a side door as we entered the school proper. Ignoring the yells I could hear through the open door, we continued through the hallways until I ducked into a supply closet, pulling my friends in after me.

After taking a moment to catch my breath, I summoned my armour, ignoring the camera that sat silent sentry in the corner. It wasn't like any of them worked anyway. Determination curled within my gut as I reaffirmed the ideals that had led me down this path, my duty. As the light died down around me, I exhaled slowly, letting Taylor fade and Artakha take her place. The simultaneous flashes to my left and right signaled Sophia and Emma calling their own armour. Sure enough, when the light died down, Shadow Stalker and Tuyet stood beside me.

"Fragarach."

As I spoke, I connected to the systems that served as mission control in the base, an image of Fragarach's armoured form appearing in a corner of my vision as I did so. Behind her, I could see the rest of the team, Palisade, Spectre, and Matoro standing ready, twitching as they looked up at me.

"Artakha." She affirmed with a nod. "Whadda we do boss?" She asked with a smirk that I could physically hear through the comms.

"Teleport everyone to my position, along with the drones. We need to put this down before it gets any worse. That means all of us, we can't afford to underestimate this." There was no way I was taking chances with a school of innocents so close to the battleground.

"Well, you heard the woman, get going!"

I withheld my sigh, instead observing the image on my HUD of the three as they made their way to the teleporter, Spectre seemingly dragging her heels. Within a few seconds, the tell-tale flashes of light heralded the arrival of reinforcements, Fragarach's drones appearing alongside the others.

The four drones were little more than a metal case with four levitation Kanoka to provide thrust, but their tactical advantage was not insignificant. They connected back to Fragarach's systems, allowing her to provide us with battlefield updates in real-time, as well as being mobile teleportation points for if we needed them.

With the team assembled, it was time to get moving. But first things first…

"Matoro, Spectre; front and center!"

The two started at my call but quickly stepped up to me regardless.

"I've been debating with myself on this matter, but I no longer have the luxury of time."

I sighed, resolving myself.

"Raise your fists."

 **DUTY**

Understanding shot through Matoro's body, his armour clinking as he straightened, raising his fist before him. Spectre was a little more hesitant, taking a little more time to raise her fist in my direction.

I stepped up to Spectre, the blue and gold clad girl staring up at my taller frame.

"Spectre." I began, my power flowing through me, "Do you agree to swear by our code, to abide by the sanctity of life, to stand at our side and to uphold the honor of those you fight beside?"

A highly abbreviated form of the oath I'd had the others swear, but as I'd said before, we no longer had the time.

A second passed by as she hesitated, then spoke up.

"I do."

I nodded, before pressing my fist to hers, my final full charge flowing between us.

As the sixth bond formed in the back of my mind, I turned to Matoro and recited the same lines I'd given Spectre. He agreed without hesitation, my last half-trickle flowing into his body even as the seventh and last link formed in my head. Normally the fact I'd only given him half a charge would have been an issue, but since he already had the mental aptitude to use Kanohi, my power just filled in the space left unfilled, settling in without issue.

Right. Let's get this started.

"We need to keep the gangs from escalating. We need to contain this as best we are able. Shadow Stalker." I turned to the black-clad girl, "I'm authorizing the use of Reconstitution Kanoka." I told her as she twitched in shock. "Use the Sanok, aim for the phones, we can't let them call in reinforcements. Fragarach, Assist her."

The second I stopped talking, Shadow Stalker gave me a nod and shifted to shadow, moving through the wall as if it wasn't there, moving in a straight line to the fight. One of the drones bobbed once in the air before turning to move out through the open door. The threat of further reinforcements dealt with, I turned to the rest of my team.

"Matoro."

The white Akaku turned my way, its owner's gaze settling on me from where it had been tracking Shadow Stalker through the walls.

"Find the rest of the students and teachers. Gather them together in the cafeteria, Fragarach'll guide you, then seal them in. We can't let anyone get hurt, so having them somewhere we know they'll be safe helps. After you've done that, go outside and help the rest of us put the gangs down. But our first priority is the students."

"Of course."

He sketched an overly flourished salute before turning on his heel and striding out the room, the air misting around him as he readied his power.

"Tuyet, we need you on crowd control but you need more water. Go through the school. Turn on _every_ faucet, flood the building. You'll need all the ammunition you can get."

"Yes Mistress."

She too bowed before running out of the room. That just left me with Palisade, Spectre, and Fragarach. The latter I didn't need to give orders.

"Fragarach." I started, focusing my attention on the image in my vision instead of one of the three drones that remained. "You know what to do."

"Yes boss, right away boss!"

My eye twitched at her response, far too chipper for the situation even as the window in my vision winked out. With a barely audible hum, the three drones turned as one and flowed out the door to set up overwatch.

"Palisade, I need you to defend the school, set up your territory, and ensure that none shall pass."

The shield-bearing girl snorted at my reference, but nonetheless nodded and moved out the door. My last teammate, Spectre, shuffled uneasily as I focused the entirety of my attention on her.

"I need you picking off any stragglers, anyone who looks like they may be going for help. As I said before, protecting the civilians is our first priority, the second is containment. We can't let this spread."

I turned, raising my arm to summon my spear before I realized I'd yet to receive any sort of affirmation from the wearer of the Volitak.

"Spectre?" I asked, turning back to the still hesitant figure behind me.

In comparison to the rest of the Toa, the blue-clad girl was hunched in on herself, curled around her laser crossbow for comfort. A thought crossed my mind and my tone softened as I spoke again.

"Are you up for fighting the Empire?" I asked, causing her head to snap up at me from where it had been staring at the floor. "I understand if you can't, but I need to know now. If only to prevent any of us from getting hurt if-"

"No!"

I paused as her outburst cut me off.

"You think I'll let you stand without me? She sneered. "There's no way you're doing this without me."

"Are you sure?"

"I didn't sign up for this, just to sit out at the first fight! If being a Toa means I have to beat up a bunch of Nazis, then you can be sure I'll do it!"

I held her gaze for a second before I nodded, accepting her words.

"All right. We'll talk about this later.

I saw her flinch minutely out the corner of my eye, but I no longer had time to waste, I strode out the door, Spectre behind me as I left. I turned left, Spectre right, her toward the roof, while I headed for the main doors. It was time to join the fight. Water trickled under my feet as I moved through the halls, proof of Tuyet's preparations.

This wasn't the sort of fight where we could win by wearing the enemy down. They had the advantage of numbers, the possibility of backup, and absolutely no issues with using lethal force. We, on the other hand, were limited to just the six of us, had little to no possibility of reinforcements, and were limited by the presence of non-combatants. Still, we were Toa, and we stood bravely in the face of insurmountable odds.

With a thought, my Freeze spear teleported into my hand, the air around it turning to mist as the moisture froze. I lengthened my stride, breathing deeply as I reached the main doors. This was it. Until now we'd been mostly flying quiet, as quiet as being known by both the Empire and Protectorate was, anyway. Yes, we were known, but only by the powers that be and certain forums on PHO. We didn't have the same fame as New Wave, and I was pretty sure Lung considered us beneath him.

This would change everything. Despite my best efforts, this would do more for our reputation than the past few months combined. Something this big? It couldn't be ignored. No-one attacked schools. It just wasn't done, not since Marquis' time. We would no longer be able to take advantage of the fact that we were relatively small-time. Everyone would know us after this. Everyone would go back over any information there was about us; our powers, capabilities, and values. The time for subtlety was out. This was no longer just a fight.

It was an exhibition match.

I kicked the doors open, sunlight streaming into the hall as I took in the sight outside. Shadow Stalker danced between the gangsters, intermittently firing off Kanoka. The discs arced through the air, thoroughly ignoring the laws of physics as they drew impossible patterns in the air on their way to their targets.

Once they struck, everything from boiling water to some furry squid fell out of the pockets of the thugs, sending them panicking. I could safely say it was one of the stranger things I'd seen in my career as a Toa.

Since Shadow Stalker was their only visible source of opposition though, it wouldn't take long for the gangs to focus on her. That is if they would even work together. Besides the slow creeping movement of vines as Palisade enshrouded the school, myself and the black Toa were the only people protecting the school. If we wanted to hold out long enough for the others to come to our aid, we would have to thin the herd. And fast.

The sound of the doors bouncing off the opposite walls turned a good portion of the combatant's attention toward me. The staccato sound of gunshots faded for a brief moment as my appearance caused a lull in the fighting. Typically, this didn't last long as a good number of the gang members turned their attention to me.

I moved, my shield expanding on my arm as I flanked the majority of the E88 gangsters, turning their fire away from the school building. Sparks flew as their bullets pinged off my shield and armour as I closed, and then I was among them.

It always looks impressive in movies when the main character takes on uncountable numbers of bad guys without a scratch and walks away at the end only slightly out of breath. Everyone knows the world doesn't work that way, but I'd developed an appreciation for the more realistic ones, mostly the older martial arts movies before CG started to become a crutch. What I'd quickly realized was that very rarely did the protagonist fight more than one or two people at a time. Sure, there were far more than that in one shot at once, but only one was ever engaged at a time. The one would be taken out in a minimum of hits, and the main guy would move onto the next.

It was something that formed the core of my fighting style, even if I could cheat slightly. Ice was good for one-shots after all.

My spear lanced out, finding the shoulder of the first man to oppose me. Placing my free hand lower on the shaft, I pivoted, bringing the spear diagonally down his body, a line of ice following in its wake, sprouting off the man even as I moved past him.

One down.

The second man was as unprepared as the first, and a sweeping strike of my weapon left his hands encased in a block of ice, rendering his weapon useless. A second jab left him frozen to the floor, rendering him helpless as I pushed him, sending him toppling over, tripping the man who had come rushing up behind him, who also found himself frozen to the floor in short order.

With the advantage of surprise lost, a heavyset man with a fairly impressive beard swung a gleaming set of knuckledusters in my direction, advancing on me even as I swayed to avoid the attack. Clever. The main weakness of using a spear as a weapon was also its greatest strength; its range. I could keep people at a distance due to the spear's length, but that same length became unwieldy when someone got within my guard. But I knew this and was prepared.

I couldn't fall back for fear of leaving Shadow Stalker overwhelmed, nor could I spend the time to deal with this guy, who seemed a cut above the others, for fear of being surrounded. Thinking fast, I held my position and planted my spear tip down into the ground. His eyes flicked down to my weapon, expecting some kind of attack. An attack that didn't come. By the time his eyes flicked back up to mine, I'd already set my feet and bought my left arm across my body, the distance just right.

The sound of a gong echoed across the street as I bought my shield across my body, slapping the thug away from me. Without my enhanced strength courtesy of the Pakari, he was only sent sprawling instead of flying head over heels, but it was enough. I grabbed my spear with both hands, and instead of ripping it out of the ground, lifted myself up using the spear, dodging the next guy to make a grab for me. He promptly slipped on the icy ground, the spear's power freezing the floor around it ever since I'd jammed it into the ground. The second received a two-footed kick to the chest from my position on the spear, sending him tumbling.

Curling around myself, I rotated around the shaft of my spear, my boot hooking into the shirt of the guy beneath me. I extended and called upon my first Kanohi of the fight. My body snapped taut, and the Pakari's assistance threw the unfortunate man into the next wave of charging thugs, scattering them like bowling pins.

My foot pushed off the road, and I back flipped over the men coming up behind me as I pulled my spear free of the asphalt. Frost curled around me as I somersaulted through the air, sparks flashing off my armour as some of the more attentive gangsters bought the opportunity my flight time provided to take unobstructed shots.

Whilst the bullets themselves didn't hurt, the kinetic force they bought wasn't so easy to shake off, diverting my landing from on top of one particular Nazi to right beside him instead. Fortunately for me, he had no idea I'd just landed beside him, and a quick sweep of my foot sent him to the ground, upon which he was promptly frozen.

There wasn't room to bring my spear round to hit the other guy, so I introduced the metallic surface of my shield to the guy's face as he swung at me. He reeled back, blood spurting from his nose, and I quickly tagged him with my spear, ice forming across his chest and binding him to the asphalt. I took a moment to breathe, straightening up from the crouch my final blow had left me in. Taking a few deep breaths, I beat back the fatigue that seeped through my bones, forcing myself to remain upright. Unfortunately, the battlefield wasn't so kind as to allow me to re-energize myself.

The yell that sounded from behind me sent me spinning on my heel to face the threat. Stupid. I should have known better than to let my guard down. The skinhead was too close for me to hold off with my spear, and was already lining up for a shot with a- was that a shotgun?

While I was fairly confident I could tank the pellets at such close range, the bruises the slugs would leave wouldn't exactly be pretty. My shield came up even as I switched out the Calix for the Hau, hoping either would be in time.

It turned out I needn't have worried.

Just as I saw the gunman's finger tighten on the trigger, a ray of bright white light came out of nowhere, sending him sprawling onto the curb. Huh. I blinked, the afterimage of the bolt affecting my eyes even through my mask. Spectre must have reached the roof then. I turned back toward the school, barely seeing a shimmer in the air over the protruding vines as Spectre moved for another position. I smiled. Good, it looked like she'd taken the sniper lessons to heart. Furthermore, the vines around the school had stopped growing, which meant…

Almost as if on cue, a vine flicked out over the top of the impromptu wall, holding a green-clad figure in its clutches. In a single smooth motion, the vine deposited its cargo on the ground before splitting into multiple segments and lashing out at the nearest thugs, thick green foliage wrapping around the combatants, pinning their arms to their sides.

Of course, their buddies weren't oblivious enough to not notice a plant going nuts and snatching up several fully grown men seemingly without any effort and turned their fire to the girl touching the writhing tendrils.

Now seeing that Amy technically had two secret identities, one of which being the healer Panacea, it was understandable that her time was somewhat tight. And naturally, she didn't want to spend all the time she spent with us training. So instead of her being a martial artist, we cheated somewhat.

Sparks flew as bullets struck metal, and yielded. Palisade hefted her H-shaped shield, curling so that all her body was protected beneath the metal. The vines twitched once more, the grass erupted up around her, and she disappeared.

Useful thing the Huna.

Unfortunately for the gangs, they were distracted from searching for their suddenly invisible opponent by the veritable waterfall exploding out the main doors. Tuyet and Matoro were carried from the building on a plume of water, the rest of the attack sweeping down and around, knocking down E88 and ABB member alike. The pair set down by me, the rest of the bedraggled gangsters coughing and spluttering as they clambered to their feet.

I grinned fiercely even as my lungs burned as I bought in air. We had this. The three of us had held off the gangsters arrayed against us, and with the six of us now, they wouldn't be able to last long. I blinked. Something was off though. Normally whenever we faced the unpowered members of either of the gangs, it resulted in a short fight where we either routed them completely or the gangsters fled in short order. I could understand their confidence at the number disparity, but they spent just as much time fighting each other as they had Shadow Stalker and I. why were they still fighting? It was almost as if-

"Artakha!" My comm burst into life, Fragarach's panicked voice sounding in my ear. "You've got incoming it's-"

…

…

…

…

My ears rang as I pulled myself out of the remains of the bus stop, glass cascading off my armour with a tinkling sound. Groaning, I staggered to my feet, spotting my spear embedded in a building a few meters away. Out the corner of my eye, I spotted the armoured forms of Tuyet and Matoro pulling themselves to their feet.

A flurry of movement over to my left caught my attention, a good thing since I was just in time to see the demon-masked visage of Oni Lee lunge for Shadow Stalker, my teammate entering her breaker state just before an explosion enveloped the pair of them.

Well.

At least I could add grenades to the list of things the Kanoka Armour protected us from.

As the ringing in my ears subsided, I started to be able to hear Fragarach's panicked voice in my ear, though I was unable to make out the words. What she was saying was unnecessary, however, since I could see it for myself.

Alabaster stood transfixed, Spectre's stun lasers rapidly impacting the Empire Cape, reapplying the effect every time he reset. The foliage that had once protected Palisade was now little more than a storm of vines and thorns beating back Stormtiger as the girl herself backed off, her tower shield sparking against Cricket's Kamas as the pair danced between the wildly twisting vines.

The Empire and ABB had sent Capes. The chances of our victory just plummeted.


	15. Forging 1-12

**A/N: And we're back in a decent timeframe! Don't expect this to be the norm, this semester is looking busy. Sorry.**

 **But Anyway, I've _finally_ got to the end of Forging! The end of this was something I've had in my head since the start, and while lots of things have changed over the drafts and feedback, (even the Toa themselves sometimes), this hasn't and I'm so glad we're finally here. I can get to the bits I want to write as opposed to just getting there YASSS!**

 ***ahem***

 **But I should just get on with it eh?**

The Masks We Wear Chapter 15

Worm/Bionicle

Forging 1.12

I took in the situation, my mind absorbing the information between one thought and the next, idly noting that the three Empire capes were the same ones I'd helped capture during my debut. Regardless, I didn't have time to gawk. As the one who had drawn our merry band of misfits together, the others looked to me as their leader. Some of the time it wasn't an issue, some of the time it was a right pain. And some of the time, like now, I could not be more thankful.

"Matoro, encase Alabaster!" I yelled, not bothering to waste the time it would take to retrieve my spear from the wall, I reached a hand between my shoulder blades, the teleportation Kanoka embedded into the armour moving my Weakness Spear into my grip as I ran.

Come on, come on think! What was the best series of moves with what we had available?

"Stalker, Fragarach! Hone in on Oni Lee! We need to keep him occupied!"

A grunt of affirmation and the whine of the drones re-tasking met my ears as my teammates moved to carry out my plan.

I pushed past the gangers too stupid or brave to run, the footfalls behind me indicating Tuyet's movement. Thinking furiously, my mind was made up for me as Palisade went sprawling with a cry, dodging out of range of Cricket's blades, only to move right into one of Stormtiger's directed wind blades. The non-elemental air attack scored a long line down the emerald armour, throwing my friend into her own vine wall.

"Tuyet!" I called over my shoulder to the girl behind me, "Blunt the wind!"

I received a nod and a 'Mistress' in acknowledgement, her writhing ball of water enveloping her and shooting off to distract Stormtiger, tendrils of water already snapping off the main body as I watched.

Okay okay, we could do this, we weren't done just yet.

Leaving Cricket for Palisade to deal with, I threw myself back into the mass of gangsters still hitting each other. My spear sang as it whipped through the air, the whistle of its passing the only warning as I leapt back into the fray. My first jab cut at the legs of the Nazi closest to me, sending him sprawling, and another trio of jabs ensured his limbs couldn't support him. Blocking the stab from his opponent, I slammed my shield into the Asian's face, sending him reeling, clutching at his nose. Another set of strikes curtsey of my weakness spear ensured he was likewise incapacitated.

A resounding crunching sound and a yell of panic tore my attention away from the fight in front of me. The roof upon which Spectre was hiding crumbled, throwing the girl into the air. Before the rest of us could move to assist, the blue armoured Toa turned her fall into a glide, flowing over the battle raging before her. I raised an eyebrow at the absence of the tell-tale lines that denoted the use of her power before pushing it aside.

Spectre set herself down beside me, dusting chips of concrete off her greaves as she landed. We shared a nod as she straightened up, hefting her crossbow as one would a rifle as her gaze panned over the remnants of the gangs members.

"looks like it's up to us to take out the trash huh?"

"Looks like."

I frowned at my teammate's words. The vitriol in her voice was worrying, but now wasn't the time. Instead, I returned her greeting, such as it was, and leapt back into the fray.

I ducked at the yell emanating from directly behind me, shifting around so the machete came down on my shield as opposed to the back of my head. The rusting blade scraped down the Protodermis of my shield, sparks following in its wake. I spun on the ball of my foot, coming around to face the ABB member as he recovered from his strike. I jabbed my spear into the asphalt, the polearm unsuited for close combat. Instead, my fist lashed out, knocking the man off-balance as I settled into my stance.

His eyes narrowed, advancing with measured steps as he moved toward me, the sun glinting off the pitted weapon in his hands. He came at me with a slash from the left, one I diverted easily using my right gauntlet, sending another flurry of sparks across my vision as the blade slid past me. He chambered, and lashed out with a straight stab, one that I flowed under, coming up behind him to drive the edge of my shield into the side of his head, knocking him unconscious.

I spun, checking my surroundings, flicking a Reconstitute Kanoka at someone whispering furiously into a cellphone, turning the device into a Koi fish, a second Kanoka, a Freeze, imprisoning him in ice. Taking another look, I relaxed when no enemies immediately presented themselves. Taking the moment to catch my breath, I caught sight of Tuyet and Stormtiger's fight out the corner of my eye. Wind screamed and shot forth from Stormtiger's fists, the Nazi cape caught in a small hurricane of his own power. But as strong as the winds were, they blunted upon meeting the return fire of the Toa of water. Water crashed against the shrieking air, halting it, but not emerging unscathed from its efforts.

While Stormtiger's wind blasts simply dissipated upon contact with the water, Tuyet's own volleys exploded into shimmering droplets, before coalescing into streamers, moving back to a point in the air behind Tuyet, to be readied once more. Indeed, as I watched, one of the writhing bands of water swept out in an arc, scything out at Stormtiger. The Cape dropped, rolling to the side to avoid the attack, the water passing harmlessly over his head.

However, unlike the previous times, once expended, the attack did not return to the Toa, instead dropping down onto the grass, coating a section of turf a dozen metres long in water. Including the area where Stormtiger was standing. Taking advantage, Tuyet bought her arm over and down, making a motion like she was throwing a baseball. Her chain, so far unused, unfurled and ignited, wreathed in blue lightning. The strike hit, not aimed at Stormtiger, already wreathed in a protective shell of wind, but the water drenching the ground.

The electricity eagerly jumped along the ground, racing toward the Nazi and blowing him away from the battle, bypassing his shield entirely. I smirked despite myself, twirling my spear in my hands as I stepped back to the fight.

" _Artakha!"_

I stopped, my attention suddenly fully on my teammate's voice in my ear. While she wasn't as panicked as she was earlier, she was, if possible, more concerned.

"Acknowledging." I answered, my voice tight with caution.

" _Kaiser's on his way, he'll be on you in less than a minute."_

 _What!?_

"Say again Fragarach," I queried, "I thought you said we had Kaiser inbound?"

" _Yes!"_ Came the answer. _"He's in a car a few blocks from here. I'm sorry I didn't spot him before, but I was occupied with Oni Lee, I-"_

"Don't worry about it." I cut her off, twitching my weapon from side to side in agitation. "Bearing?"

" _Two-Five-Eight. Black Sedan, Tinted Windows. Four Occupants, I can't tell who. Sorry."_

"Don't worry about it." The reason for Fragarach's distraction became all the more apparent as the sound of another grenade detonating echoed through the air. Shaking my head and trusting Shadow Stalker to continue delaying Oni Lee, I turned to the floating form of Spectre, Matoro jogging up behind her.

"Think you can take the rest of the mooks?"

"What do you take me for?" Came the reply.

"Sure sure." I sighed, before switching to the team-wide channel. "Listen up. We've got Kaiser inbound. Now I don't think I need to tell you how this is going to turn out if he gets here. Matoro and I will delay him and any backup he brought. Hopefully by now the Protectorate has taken notice of our little party and is on their way. If that happens, continue to protect the school and direct them to us. Hopefully I won't have to wait long. Artakha out."

Finishing my spiel, I turned to the Toa of Ice standing beside me, blade glinting in the sunlight.

"You up for a flight?" I asked, shrinking my shield and stowing my spear, leaving my hands free.

"Do I have a choice?"

I smirked, calling upon the power of the Kadin as I picked him up by the arms, orienting myself, and taking to the sky.

It didn't take long to find the car Fragarach was referring to. After all, who besides law enforcement drives _towards_ an ongoing gang fight? I could specifically spot the moment when we were spotted, the car slowing to a halt as we alighted before the vehicle. I let go of Matoro, the Ice Toa taking up a position slightly behind me to my left, his head panning back and forth as we stepped forward.

As we moved, the doors of the sedan opened, letting four figures step out onto the road. I stopped at the sight, reaching to my back for my spear as the four moved toward us, seeing Matoro reaching for his own weapon out the corner of my eye.

I ran my eyes over the four moving toward us, straightening as my eyes settled on the first. Striding confidently towards us was a man in gleaming silver armour, covered from head to toe. Kaiser. I couldn't help but draw comparisons between the pair of us, both fully covered in silver armour, both the leaders of our respective groups, standing before each other as our teammates fought behind us. But he didn't see his Capes as teammates did he? They were his subordinates. That, and the values we each espoused set to differentiate us, despite the visual similarities.

The next two, taking up flanking positions on either side of Kaiser were two identically armoured women. The twins; Fenja and Menja. The only difference between them was their weaponry; one wielded a spear slung over her back, the other fingered a sword strapped at her side, the other arm lashed to a shield. If they could get up to size, they would be an issue. Before then, they were nothing more than baseline humans in armour with blades.

The fourth, the man who had been driving was obviously driving, was dressed in black and red urban combat armour, and the only one I knew beyond reputation. Viktor. I clenched my fist tighter round my spear as I recognised him. I bit my lip, focusing back on the issue at hand. We were outnumbered two to one, and had no idea of how soon backup would arrive, if it even did. We had to stall. If they got past us, it would spell disaster for the Toa still defending the school. Four relatively fresh fighters against the exhausted defenders still present? No contest.

"Kaiser."

My voice sounded out across the street as I stopped a respectable distance from the Empire leader, the electronic twanging in my modulated voice catching the man's attention as I called out to him.

"I must ask you to halt where you are." I continued, denying him the opportunity to lead the conversation, ignoring the bead of sweat making its way down my neck.

"And I must ask you to move aside my dear."

I gritted my teeth at his rebuttal before pushing my annoyance down. His perfectly genial tone, the condescending way he addressed me; all used to annoy me, to make me angry, to get me to make mistakes. I couldn't fall for it. There were people relying on me.

"And I'm afraid I can't do that. My apologies."

He tensed ever so slightly at my response, before he relaxed once more, so quickly that if I hadn't specifically been paying attention to him, I would've missed it. Interesting. Everything I'd read about Kaiser indicated he wasn't one to easily let his façade slip, so for him to react to such a small slight, he must be tightly wound already. Great. Just what we needed.

"Regardless my dear, I must continue. There is an altercation that I must see to."

 _Like hell!_

"Then it seems we are at an impasse." I observed, my attention still centred squarely on him. If there were to be any indication that the conversation was going to devolve into violence, it would come from him, the leader.

"We cannot let you join your forces attacking the school." I continued, adjusting my grip on my spear as I spoke, hearing more than seeing Matoro shift his footing behind me. "So it seems-"

"Wait."

I froze at his tone, the bite behind it different than anything I'd heard from him previously.

"I did not come here looking for a fight. Indeed, I wish to stop one."

"Explain."

"Those attacking the school, they are not doing so under my orders." He seemed to force out the words, as though admitting the schism caused him physical pain. And in a way, it did. Admitting a weakness to an enemy was worse for the Empire than any single loss in combat, even if it was to prevent the response an attack on a school would rouse from the Protectorate.

"I only wish to retrieve my men, then I will be out of your way."

I stood there gaping, thankful my helmet obscured my features. It couldn't be this simple right? This was perfect. If he held his word, we could eliminate the Empire in one fell swoop, leaving only Oni Lee and the ABB to deal with. As long as-

Wait.

'Retrieve.' Those were his words. He planned to evacuate all those involved. Even those we'd already captured? Even if he showed them his displeasure, there would be those willing to risk his wrath, capes and normal alike, to avenge their perceived defeat, and would likely remember the school as the wound to their pride. As much as I wanted to agree, to prevent this from happening again, we needed to get the attackers taken in by either the police or the PRT. Otherwise the cycle would just continue.

And that wasn't even takin into account the fact that the resolution rested on the word of a supervillain.

"I'm sorry." I sighed. "As much as I wish I could agree, the men you rescued would only return later to 'settle the score.' As much as you would attempt to prevent this from happening, you can't control everyone in your organisation. This situation proves it. So we can't let you past."

I held my breath, waiting for his response, muscles tensed to dodge, patterns of attack flashing through my mind as I anticipated his response.

"Pity" He hummed, bringing his hand up to his chin as though to stroke a beard. "But not unexpected. Ladies, if you would."

By the time the twins stepped forward, I was already moving. By the time they had unlimbered their weapons and had begun to grow, I had already crossed half the distance between us. My left hand reached up between my shoulder blades, pulling my Zamor Launcher and calling on the Sanok. As the mask of accuracy flashed onto my face, I pulled the trigger, a ball of white lightning coalescing and firing in the same moment. The Zamor curved, forming an impossible arc through the air as it soared over Kaiser's head. I focused on a different point in my mind and pulled the trigger once more.

Refocus. Fire. Refocus. Fire.

I continued, filling the sky with balls of lightning, each aimed for a different part on the twin's bodies. The assault was such that they had to abandon their growth to fend off the attack. With so many projectiles drawing arcs in the air, with patterns following laws they had no knowledge of, they eventually succumbed. Hitting exposed parts of their bodies, between the armour, they were too small, not yet large enough for their power to shrug off the paralytic effects. And first one, then the other fell, leaving me unopposed in my run to Kaiser.

I stowed my Launcher, expanding my shield as I continued to close, barely even stumbling as Victor's shots bounced off my armour, before a wall of ice sprung up, leaving Kaiser and myself on one side, and Matoro and Victor on the other.

Now, while I'd faced Hookwolf, arguably one of the most deadly Capes in the Empire's roster, I actually considered Kaiser to be more dangerous. Hookwolf was a cage fighter, and it showed. While he had a few clever tricks he could pull with his power, he rarely used them, preferring to grind people to pieces in his wolf form that gave him his name. My fight with him had resembled more of a high stakes bullfight than a cape battle, and as long as I kept him in my view, I was fine. I couldn't do that with Kaiser. His power was a combination of territory creation and area denial. If he managed to trap you in his forest of blades, it was over. He had total control over metal in his range, and could attack from multiple directions simultaneously. You wouldn't know where he was attacking from until he committed. It was for that reason that I had to-

My thoughts scattered as I was sent airborne, a spike of metal the width of my torso carrying me up into the air. I panted for a second, winded, and gathered my thoughts. Okay then. No deep thinking in a combat situation. I rolled off the pillar as the edges split into filaments that reminded me uncomfortably of a spider's legs, reaching down to restrain me.

I slashed through the few that were too close as I fell, flaring my levitation panels to soften my fall as I hit the ground running, metal spikes already forming from streetlamps and cars as I moved. There was a brief moment of stillness, as I set my feet and launched myself toward Kaiser, then all hell broke loose.

The air around me became a storm of steel as Kaiser's blades whirled around me. It was all I could do to avoid the dancing metal as I abandoned my charge to focus on dodging, the Calix and my hours of training with Emma enabling me to avoid the most crippling of blows. But as good as I was, Kaiser was better. I could avoid any single attack easily, two was only a little harder, but upwards of three? I was battered around as attacks of blades five strong came in from every direction, gaging me in. it was all I could do to roll with the blows and dodge those that would leave more than bruises. I spun, rotating through the air between a trio of lunging spears, and spun in a wide circle, my spear weakening the metal and slicing cleanly through the stalks, the remnants dropping to the ground.

But I didn't have time to celebrate my victory, for more tendrils erupted from the metal laying on the floor, the shining fingers reaching for me, to cut, to pierce, to break. I moved, again bending double to duck beneath the attack, then diving over another pair that moved in low, attempting to bracket me between the two attacks. I avoided both, but ran straight into the spike that came in from the side, cracking the already weakened armour below my ribs. I coughed, bouncing across the road like a stone across a pond, sparks flying off me as I tumbled through the edges of Kaiser's attack, seeing clear sky for a moment before a shining length flashed out of the forest of steel, wrapping round my ankle and yanking me back in.

I managed to move my spear round enough to get the tip in between my armour and the constricting tendril, shearing it off and rolling to my feet. Instantly, the spires around me reacted, aiming directly for my face – no, my mask. Kaiser certainly wasn't stupid, and had obviously realised that the Kanohi gave me power. I twirled, my spear once more blunting his attack, metal raining down around me, and I slipped between the encroaching web of metal, rolling through the slowly closing gap as the dome completed behind me. The only issue was, I was now completely lost. I had no way of knowing which way Kaiser was in, surrounded by metal as I was. I paused, swinging my spear around me once more, but this time, the spikes coming at me _bent._ Instead of being sliced apart, they moved over and under my attack and hit me directly in the chest.

I came to as I hit the floor, my spear flying out of my hands as I rolled. I blearily spotted my weapon embedding itself in a solid wall of steel to my left, but that was overshadowed my the pain in my shoulder as I managed to halt my headlong roll. I clambered to my feet, raising my shield despite the pain the action caused me, and promptly went sprawling when what felt like a train hit me in the back, the screeching of metal on metal a testament to the metal that had just saved my life. Regardless, though the pointed edges of the attack had failed to penetrate my armour, the kinetic energy of the attack was still relevant, sending me flying.

I once again pulled myself to my feet, spitting blood out of my mouth as I did so. Spotting another attack, I pulled heavily on the Calix, diving over the spikes rocketing my way, gritting my teeth as the action jostled my injured shoulder. I rolled over to my spear, using the strength of the Pakari to pull it out of the wall, switching again to the Calix in order to defend myself against yet another multi-pointed attack, one that I failed to totally thwart, a strike at my legs sending me to my knees. I gasped, my spear once more clattering from my fingers as my strength deserted me. I'd never been hit so hard before.

I struggled back to my feet, holding my left arm against my side awkwardly, I looked up as a particularly loud explosion echoed from the direction of the school. Kaiser obviously noticed the same noise, as the many steel lances around me stilled for a moment.

"I don't have time for this."

The utterance was far closer than I'd expected, and in the next moment the forest of steel parted to show Kaiser in all his shining glory. In the space of a heartbeat, the many spires of metal that made up Kaiser's power blurred into action. But this wasn't what I'd been facing up until now, the entire forest moved as one, far faster than I was capable of reacting to. Before I knew it, I felt like I was in a tumble-dryer made of swords, the sparks emanating from my armour blinded me for a moment, before a series of sharp pains in my arm caused me to cry out, and I slammed into the ground face-first. I felt my right arm move under a great force, along with my legs, binding together.

Then there was silence.

I greedily sucked in air in great gulps, struggling to see past the tears of pain clouding my eyes. I attempted to move, but only my left arm responded, twitching weakly. I peered over my shoulder from my awkward position on the floor, attempting to see what bound me, but to my surprise, there were none of Kaiser's spikes near me. Instead, those that I could see were retracting back into the surfaces that spawned them, clearing the street once more. But if that was the case then what-

Then I saw it.

Spikes emerging from my own armour curled around my right arm, turning the multi-segmented panels into one solid metal sleeve, preventing me from moving it. My left arm wasn't in much better shape. Even if it had none of Kaiser's metal to keep it bound, it wasn't needed. The armour had been shorn off to just below my shoulder, and great rents criss-crossed the black under armour, from which blood bubbled. Despite the fact my spear lay only a few feet from me, I couldn't move my arm enough to reach it. Nor could I contort it into the position that would enable me to summon my Zamor Launcher or any other weapon. An explorative attempt to move my legs once more encountered resistance, making it much more likely that the same form of restraint that was used on my arm was in play.

Stupid!

Kaiser could control metal. I made my armour out of Protodermis, a form of _metal._ It never occurred to me that he could just take over my armour like that. So the entire time, he was just _playing_ with me? My rising anger was quickly quenched as a metallic boot entered my peripheral vision. Turning my head back forward I was presented with Kaiser, his helmeted face turned away toward the direction of the school even as he began to speak.

"So you see my dear, you really should have stepped aside when you had the chance. You have no-one to blame for this but yourself. Though have no fear. You have fought valiantly and I shall see to it that no further harm comes to your compatriots."

 _The hell?_ He just beat me down, after I tried to stop him from rescuing people who had attacked a _school,_ and he wants me to be _thankful?_ I wasn't sure if I should laugh or rage. And he wasn't even looking at me, secure in his victory. Rude as it was, I could use his inattention. I opened my mouth to call for help, but what came out couldn't even be called a whisper. So I couldn't call for help, couldn't move, and my Kanohi had been knocked loose sometime during my capture. The only thing I had was my spear, it wasn't much, but if I could injure him enough to get him to retreat…

I grit my teeth to supress a cry of pain as I forced my battered left arm to move. Scraping slowly across the ground, every movement bringing pain, I tuned out Kaiser as he began again, forcing every iota of my being into reaching my spear.

After what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few seconds, I managed to get my arm pointed at my spear, only to nearly cry as my fingertips barely brushed the shaft of the weapon. _Come on. Come on!_ I stretched, pleading in my heart that it would be enough, that I could reach my weapon, the weapon I'd wielded since I'd made it. I put every last working muscle to task stretching for my lifeline hoping, praying, that it would be enough.

"-and now it seems we're out of time. I must- wait, what?"

 _NO!_

My heart stopped as Kaiser realised my aim, his boots shifting in my vision as I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable rain of blades. Except it didn't come. As I heard Kaiser adjust his footing, something inside me _clicked,_ and my hand met resistance.

 _YES!_

My eyes snapped open, trained directly on Kaiser, his whole body taught with shock. Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, I thrust forward with my spear as hard as my position and my wounds would allow. My blow struck true, meeting Kaiser's armour halfway up the inside of his thigh, and the metal gave way instantly, scoring a deep line into the Empire leader's leg. I almost fainted in relief.

"Why you…"

My relief immediately turned to fear, ice pouring down my spine as I realised I was helpless before a very angry enemy. Not ideal.

Before I had the opportunity to properly regret my recent life decisions, a hail of ice spikes embedded themselves in between myself and Kaiser, forcing the Empire cape to dodge backwards, snarling in anger, then roll to the side as a veritable ocean of water crashed down on him from above, which promptly froze over with a horrendous cracking sound.

"Guys…" I breathed in relief as the armoured forms of Matoro Tuyet and Shadow Stalker appeared in my vision, the latter re-loading her Disc Launchers even as I watched.

"…Let me help you mistress."

"Uurgh… thanks Tuyet."

With my friend helping me up, my world became more than just the grey of the road and the houses above it. I tottered a little due to my legs unwillingness to bend, getting my balance after some near calls. Then Matoro approached me with my Calix, knocked off during my fight. I gave him a nod and immediately switched it for the Kadin, rising a foot off the ground under my own power.

A crashing noise erupted from in front of me, forcing me to turn my attention away from my team and to what once was the iceberg trapping Kaiser. What I saw almost caused me to sag in defeat. The ice was scattered in several large pieces, Kaiser standing straight and proud with several lances of steel erupting from his armour. I moved my spear in front of me in preparation to block the assault when I saw something that caused my brain to stall.

There sitting on the floor, partially encased in ice was a spear. To be more precise, _my spear._ How was this possible? I'd picked it up, I'd felt it. There was no way I could have teleported it in, I knew what that felt like, this wasn't it, and besides, it would have teleported it to me, not duplicated it, so how-?

"Artakha!"

A shout snapped me out of my thoughts. Whirling in the air, I caught sight of Shadow Stalker, who had somehow ended up behind me. I saw Matoro attempt to build a wall of ice, then I was blindsided by a metal spike, driving me into Shadow Stalker and toward the house behind us. I was barely able to make out Tuyet in the same predicament before my vision was enveloped by a glow, and then I was falling.

I tried to pull myself to my feet before realising I was bound by my own armour. Sighing, I used the Pakari to enhance my strength and just ripped the bonds apart. Wincing at my wounds, I pulled myself upright _again._ I really was sick of being knocked down. Looking around, I stiffened as I realised I didn't recognise my surroundings, which consisted of sheer blackness broken only by the softly glowing green of an exit sign somewhere off to my right. I whirled, reaching for a weapon that wasn't there as I caught movement off near what I suspected to be the other wall, but the room was too dark to see. The air was damp, and with many parts of my armour ruptured or broken, I was able to smell the distinctive scent of rotting meat. I creased my nose at the smell.

"Where are we?"

Shadow Stalker's voice sounded behind me, and I turned to my fellow Toa, finding her only by the faint glow her eye-holes in her Sanok gave off. Tuyet stepped up beside her, the nervous sparking of her chains throwing long shadows over the nearest wall.

"I don't know." I responded, coughing slightly as I inspected our surroundings.

"Teleportation maybe? What do you think Fragarach?"

No response.

"Fragarach?"

The continued silence of my comm caused my apprehensiveness to shift to slight panic.

"This is Artakha to Stormhold, Fragarach do you copy?"

"Krouse, is that you?"

The sound of someone speaking out of the blackness set the three of us off. Tuyet's chains sparked fully into life, casting a harsh blue glow over us. Shadow Stalker spun, dropping to one knee as she aimed, and I called upon the Hau, ready to defend against any attacks.

"Who's there!?"

My shout echoed throughout the room, shaking slightly despite my best efforts. There was silence for a second before the voice from before responded.

"No… NO! You can't be here! Please, you have to leave!"

Now I was paying attention, the speaker sounded like a young girl, around our age. And she was _terrified._

"It's okay. I soothed, clenching and releasing my fist as I spoke. "We're Capes. We can help you." A lie, but not one that would make a difference to someone who didn't know who we were.

"NO! You can't help, it's you that's in danger. You have to leave. _Please!"_

"O-okay then." I stammered.

"Are you sure. We can at least try?"

"No! Please, if you leave, I'll be fine."

I turned to Shadow Stalker, who just shrugged helplessly at my look.

"If you're certain."

" _Yes, please!"_

Unsure of what else to do, we started moving to the green light of the exit sign, which happened to take us toward the voice. About halfway there, a wet slapping sound sounded out of the darkness, along with a small whine. We sped up.

Just as we were near the door, the light generated by Tuyet's chains fell upon a mound of flesh. The thing looked like the belly of a morbidly obese person, rolls of flesh falling over one another due to gravity to rest upon the floor. But that wasn't even the strangest thing. The strange thing was the fact that the part we could see seemed to be at least ten metres tall, and that was what we could _see._ From the way the shadows flickered, it was obvious the flesh continued further up.

"The Fuck?"

At Shadow Stalker's exclamation, the heavy breathing that I belatedly realised was _not_ my own breath stopped, leaving dead silence. If anything that was creepier than the breathing. The silence was then broken by a strangled cry of despair before an arm shot out of the darkness. If it had been a normal arm, then it wouldn't have been an issue. But the arm was as long as I was tall, still coming, and didn't appear to have any notable joints, undulating like a snake as it rocketed out of the darkness.

I reflexively triggered the Hau, the protective shield flaring as the abomination of a limb crashed off it, rebounding to snatch at Shadow Stalker. She shifted into her breaker state, deftly avoiding the first pass, but not the second, as when the arm clipped her shadow form, it was if her power had been shut off. With a cry, she was pulled off her feet and yanked into the darkness, a squelch following a second later. I stared in horror as the arm once more shot out of the darkness to grab Tuyet by the head, dragging her in too, but unlike before, the light from Tuyet's chains allowed me to see what happened.

As she was dragged in, the arm seemed to be absorbed back into the mound of flesh from which it came, and it indeed was massive. On a glance, it seemed to be as big as the trailers you see on the interstate highways, reaching almost to the ceiling. Limbs of various thickness sprouted off the main body, along with a multitude of animal heads, making the entire thing look like some sort of chimera. And on top of it all, the torso of a human girl, dressed in a tattered dress, sunk up to her waist in the disgusting rolls of flesh, like the world's most demented centaur.

As the glow of my friend's chains vanished, and the arm once again came for me, my temper snapped.

"LET THEM GO!" I roared, snarling as the arm continued to rebound off my Hau.

"I can't!"

"I DON'T CARE!"

"I'm sorry!"

 _Useless Bitch._

I grimaced, pushing away my horror, even as a pounding sound began to emanate from the door. I ignored it, the wailing of the girl, the pounding, the cracks of my shield. I ignored it all. I reached back inside myself, to my last hope. I'd called forth a replacement spear in desperation when mine was out of reach. Maybe I could do the same here.

I focused on the shape, the flat, curved blade, the black shaft.

I focused on the power, once created to save my friend from myself, now it would save her from a creature of nightmares. The power of fusion.

A weight settled in my hands, and I grinned before focusing. I waited for the hand to come back for another pass, its latest attempt cracking off my shield as ineffectually as the last ones had before it. As it reeled, I dropped my shield, dashing sideways with my speed panels lending me speed, and levelled my weapon.

The Spear of Fusion fired in reverse, the glowing beam of power lancing out from the tip, unerringly seeking out the glob of flesh that made up my target, striking it.

Upon contact, the power of the Spear obeyed my aim of separating Sophia and Emma from the monstrosity in front of me, their armoured forms flying out of the body and toward me.

And then the abomination exploded into bodies.

I was sent reeling as one of the stray bodies knocked me off my feet, the spear skittering across the floor as I rolled to my feet. My anger at being knocked flying yet again took a back seat as I took in the one who had hit me as she straightened up. I once again gaped behind my mask as I looked into a familiar face. It was Sophia, but not. For one thing, Shadow Stalker was still getting to her feet on the other side of me. For another, her skin was black. Not the normal chocolate colour of Sophia's skin, but the black of a night sky without stars. It made it even harder to see that her hair wasn't exactly hair anymore, but a shifting mass of shadows that bounced as she moved. The only normal thing about her was her eyes.

Oh, and she was also stark naked.

I was broken out of my shock as Soph… _Not-Sophia_ knelt down and picked something up off the floor. It took her levelling the Spear of Fusion at me to realise what she had picked up. My eyes widened behind my mask in horror as she spoke, a cruel grin tugging at her lips.

"Seems like I can use this without your power. Heh. Let's see who's _really_ stronger huh?"

I dodged, but she tracked me, and the beam struck me. I felt something unimaginably important get ripped away from me as I hit the floor for the second time in a minute. I yelled in pain as I landed on my injured arm and looked up at my opponent, only to see another figure standing there.

Where Not-Sophia looked like shadow incarnate, the other figure was anything but. Where my eyes struggled to even see Not-Sophia, this girl was easy to see even in the dark. Her skin was so pale it was almost painful, and pure white hair fell down her back in soft curls. With her facing away from me, I couldn't see her face as she pulled herself to her feet and slowly inspected her body. She was tall for a girl, almost as tall as I was in armour, and had the same kind of build as me; thin, wiry, with muscle definition. A runner's build. Even her hair seemed familiar…

I almost choked as the similarities stacked up in my mind, but I didn't panic. It… it was impossible right, there was no way the Spear could do that right?

Could it?

My thought process screeched to a halt as the pale figure turned towards me, allowing me to see her face for the first time. Everything was the same. The cheeks, the nose, the lips set in the too-wide mouth. The only difference was the red eyes. The white hair, pale skin and red eyes. Everything else was the same.

The final nail in the coffin was when she spoke with a smile that looked too big for my face, her eyes shining in manic excitement. Wearing my face, moving my lips, speaking in my voice, she spoke the words that would change my life forever.

"Well hello there Sister!"


	16. Interlude 4

**Well. It's been a while huh? Didn't expect it to get this long but life happened.**

 **The past few months have been hard, so thanks to the guy/gal that PM'd me to remind me of what this story means to me. You know who you are.**

 **So anyway, without further excuses;**

The Masks We Wear Chapter 16

Worm/Bionicle

Interlude 4

 **Sophia**

Today wasn't going especially well.

The shadow-themed Toa struggled in the darkness that bound her, reaching for her power once more. Just like the last time she attempted it, her power refused to answer her, leaving her stuck, trapped in the constricting flesh that denied her leverage against her prison. No amount of struggling freed her, the flesh flexing with her efforts, refusing to budge. She shivered as the motion pushed the sickening feel of her prison further against her, the slick feeling she had through the numerous tiny rips in her undersuit where the flesh was touching her skin caused Sophia to gag at the feeling.

If she was being honest, the day hadn't been great even when they had control of the situation. Fighting Oni Lee solo with some help from Lisa wasn't on her list of things she thought she'd do when she woke up this morning. The fact she managed to keep the Asian Cape on the run was immaterial. But the moment where everything absolutely went downhill was the point where the three of them had been shoved through a portal into god knows where. In hindsight, they should have just-

The next moment, there was nothing but light and the feeling of being flung through the air, ears ringing. She bounced once, twice off the concrete floor, armour leaving sparks as she screeched off along the floor.

On instinct, she bought her feet underneath her and snaked one hand out to the side for balance, controlling her tumble and making a three-point landing amongst the ruins of… flesh?

Shadow Stalker blinked once, twice, before the scene began to make sense. All around her were lumps of flesh, no bigger than a phone, as though someone had decided to take a weed whacker to someone's body, most still writing as though they weren't aware of the fact they were no longer connected to a body. The second thing that caught her eye, due to the unearthly screech, was that the _thing_ that had captured her seemed to be a hell of a lot smaller than her last, admittedly brief, glimpse of the monster. The mound of flesh that supported the girl's torso was now only a few feet tall, still enough to tower over Sophia's armoured form, but not the monstrous height she once had.

Snapping back to herself, Shadow Stalker cast her gaze over the ground, spotting the blue of Tuyet's armour out of the corner of her eye, but one other thing took up the majority of her attention.

Groaning and pushing themselves up off the ground were bodies. People that hadn't been in the room before Sophia was captured. Some were made entirely of water, others coiling tendrils of shadow that coalesced into a humanoid form. Still others were normal skin colours, but it wasn't until the nearest few turned toward her that Sophia realised the gravity of the situation.

Her own face stared back at her from the person in front of her. Glossing over the fact the other her was naked, Shadow Stalker mechanically started to take in the characteristics of her opponents. Three variants of herself, two of Emma. One made up entirely of water, the rest normal hues. Five surrounding Artakha, Tuyet lashing out at the three that- Artakha!

Shadow Stalker immediately snapped to focus. Artakha, on her knees, swaying as though she was drunk, armour trashed, one arm entirely missing and an albino standing over her, toying with a spear, the other Sophias and Emmas standing over her sagging form.

"Don't you think you have more pressing concerns?"

Shadow Stalker returned her attention to the clones directly in front of her.

"Oh?" Her voice could have frozen water. "Like you?"

"Us yes." The clone smiled, something unnerving due to the maniacal glee behind the action. "We _are_ you Sophia. All your memories, all your skills. But we're better. We're willing to do what you aren't, what you used to do. The fact you love Taylor is cute but she's pulling you down. Just let our sisters have their fun and you can be strong again, just be- HUUURRGGGHHH!"

The clone's speech was cut off abruptly by virtue of the foot of glowing blue electricity protruding from her chest. Even as she sagged to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, Sophia reached up between her shoulder blades and retrieved the second Electrochute Blade from her armoury, leaping forward to tear the first from the felled clone.

Immediately, a scythe of water raced toward her from the position of a snarling Emma. Shifting to allow the attack to pass harmlessly through her, the Toa rolled under a whip of shadow and delivered a scything kick to the back of the Emma's knees. The redhead gasped as her legs gave out under her, leaving her to fall to the ground with a crack as her head met the floor, knocking her out instantly.

Two down, three to go.

One of her own clones, face contorted into a rictus of fury, swung their arm like they were pantomiming a lasso. The next second, the limb dissolved into shadow, coming down with a crack on the Toa's former position. Shadow Stalker rolled, dodging the whip strike only to run straight into a wave of water that knocked her head over heels. Clambering unsteadily to her feet, she saw the wave reform into the shuddering form of the Emma clone, liquid body shaking as electricity crawled across her form. Still, it was enough.

Shadow Stalker began to rise, only to get hammered back down by the whip. Then her third clone caught up to her, grabbing her by the arm and throwing the Toa onto her back with a textbook Judo throw.

Gasping as the air left her lungs, the Toa barely managed to get her blades up in time to protect against the whip once again, the shadow tendril coming against the humming blade of electricity with a crack of displaced air.

The clone screeched, arm reverting to normal as the electricity thundered through her body, blowing her away from the fight and clear over Tuyet's head as she whipped the water left from her clone's attacks into a storm around her position.

By this time, the Emma clone was back on her feet, and charging Shadow Stalker. Bringing her feet under her, she thrust herself upwards, her helmet smacking into her clone's chin, stunning her. Her arm now free, she flipped up and over her opponent, grabbing her in the same Judo throw that had been used on her moments ago. Instead of throwing her clone to the ground, she spun and threw the naked form at the charging clone, the unorthodox projectile soaring toward the liquid girl.

Said projectile was simply batted aside as the clone's arm suddenly turned into a stream rivalling a pressure washer deflected the flying girl. Shadow Stalker set her stance and readied her blades for a fight. Suddenly, two steps away, the Emma froze mid-stride, one foot still of the ground, as though she'd been touched by Clockblocker. Shadow Stalker capitalised on the opening and burst forward, but before her strike could connect, an electrified chain snaked in over her shoulder and wrapped round the frozen form of her opponent, throwing her off into the distance.

Skidding to a halt and turning round, Shadow Stalker came mask-to-mask with Tuyet, the Water Toa striding up behind her.

"We need to get to her."

"I know."

The two Toa turned, a burst of speed putting them behind Artakha's assailants. The first didn't even get to yell, a mass of water engulfing her and floating her back, out of range. One of the Sophias turned and got the same treatment, shadows forming inside the bubble even as she was carried away. The Emma clone fared better, a yell of exertion blasting away the water bubble that had attempted to entrap her, but did nothing for the Freeze Kanoka that slipped in under the attack, curtesy of the Sanok. The final Sophia turned, pitch black skin making her a cutout in the world. She grabbed the albino and jumped back, putting the pair out of range of a surprise attack.

"Well well. Your team finally arrives sister."

Both Toa started in shock, helms twisting to stare at the speaker, the albino figure holding the spear. The voice was familiar, and shocking at the same time.

"T-Taylor."

From behind curls of snow-white hair and equally porcelain skin, blood red eyes stared out at the Toa, but what was undeniable, that even twisted in some macabre grin, the face looking back at them was that of Taylor Hebert.

"Ooh, close but not quite!" Cheered the Taylor, throwing up her hands, almost knocking the Sophia over in her exuberance. "I was her yes, a part of her at least, I have _all-"_ and here the copy sang the word- "her memories, I _am_ her.

"Or I Was."

Like a switch being flipped, the Taylor's features lost their levity, the grin that had stretched across her face disappearing instantly, turning instead into a rictus of hate the likes of which Shadow Stalker seldom saw, the intensity of the expression and the suddenness at which it had appeared causing her to take a step back.

"You see, this spear is a fantastic thing, really."

And as soon as the smile had disappeared, it was back, slightly unnerving the Shadow-themed Toa in the Taylor's sudden mood swings.

"Yes it's the Spear of Fusion, but the reason We created it was for its reverse function. It is _so_ much more useful to be able to split things apart don't'cha think? And our poor Taylor here got hit by such a blast, aww, poor Taylor."

Shadow Stalker took a second to spare a look at the unresponsive Artakha, her face upturned in the general direction of her albino clone, but it was anyone's guess if she was paying any attention to the conversation taking place.

"Y-You mean?"

Refocusing on the matter at hand due to Tuyet's stuttering, the black Toa was just able to catch the second the Taylor's face erupted into sheer unbridled satisfaction.

"Yes Emma well done! I am indeed, a part of our dear Taylor here, split off the whole to make her own way in the big wide world. Isn't it grand? I'm her other half, her Doppelganger, her Vezon."

Though here, an almost thoughtful look crossed the Taylor's face, even as she continued her train of thought.

"Though I suppose being called Vezon wouldn't make much sense considering there's already one out there. And it would be like calling me Clone or Double. No, being who you are _Artakha_ I think there's something more fitting."

The Taylor stepped away from the Sophia clone beside her, thrusting her chest out and planting the spear by her side butt-first with a clang of metal on concrete, an expression of utter _glee_ twisting her features.

"You can call me Karzahni!"

A shudder made its way down Shadow Stalker's spine at the proclamation, memories of stories told in the dead of night. Of a half-mad dictator and the broken subjects he ruled over, forever unable to-

No! Focus.

The Toa shook her head to clear her thoughts, seeing out the corner of her eye that Artakha had struggled to her feet. But all that was immaterial. They had to get out. Many of the clones she'd taken down previously were getting back up, and the sobbing coming from the girl-monster was subsiding. They didn't have long. So think! They were either out of range of comms or somewhere that was shielded against radio waves. So they had no way of calling for help, no way of extraction-

Wait.

She gripped the blades she held in her hands tighter. She'd reflexively pulled on her clone earlier. She hadn't had them on her when she entered this place, so the Teleportation discs must be able to penetrate whatever protection wherever they were used.

Just as the thought crossed her mind, the Toa's vision was obscured by a flash of white, which, when cleared, showed the familiar surroundings of the Teleportation pad. Her peripheral vision showed Artakha and Tuyet materialising beside her.

" _I was getting worried guys, what took you so long to- Artakha!"_

Shadow Stalker smiled under her helm as the synthesised tones of Fragarach came over her comms once more. Even as she saw Tuyet sling Artakha's uninjured arm over her shoulder and begin to lead her to the infirmary, the Toa squared her shoulders and refocused on the situation at hand.

"We can get to that later Fraga." She said tiredly, the weight of the day seemingly hitting all at once. "What's the situation at School?"

" _Right."_ Even through the synthesiser the normally smug Turaga seemed unconvinced, but she rallied and continued.

" _We're all wrapped up here. The Protectorate have finally decided to grace us with their presence and it's just the clean-up now. They're calling in Panacea, so-"_

Fragarach was interrupted by three flashes of light seemingly on top of each another. Only the fact she was still standing in the teleporter bay allowed Shadow Stalker to see Amy in between the flashes as she appeared, shed her armour and teleported straight back out.

"Right." She sighed. "So I guess that leaves us down to two in the field?"

" _Yeah. It would be great if you could get back out there, even the scales a bit, show our presence?"_

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go. I'll just try not to keel over until we're-"

" _Fragarach."_

The tired but strong voice of Artakha cut over the line, causing both speakers to blink at the sudden interruption.

" _Yes Artakha, are you feeling-"_

" _When he's done, tell Ignika to come see me. We're done playing around. I need to know what we're up against."_

" _Of course."_ To her credit, the Turaga's voice showed none of her confusion as she responded. " _What should I tell him?"_

" _Tell him to tell me everything he knows about The Makuta."_


	17. Interlude 5

**A/N: Wow, this fought me the entire way. But we're done, so let's just get on with it.**

The Masks We Wear Chapter 17

Worm/Bionicle

Interlude 5

 **Piggot**

The atmosphere in the conference room was decidedly tense. Despite the number of people sitting in the chairs that sat around the table, none said a word, the only sound the ticking of the clock that hung on the wall.

A squeak of hinges broke the silence as all the heads in the room turned toward the source of the noise.

"Sorry." Dauntless apologised sheepishly, the Grecian hero aborting the move toward his Arclance, the rub of his armour against his chair responsible for his current situation. After a moment, the assembled Parahumans turned back to the previous focus of their attention, still silent.

 _Good. It looks like they can learn after all._

Emily Piggot supressed a smirk as a momentary flare of satisfaction flitted across her mind before it was squashed with ruthless discipline.

"Would anyone like to tell me how this happened?"

She didn't shout. She didn't rage. Her voice was perfectly controlled and calm.

Even so, the ambient temperature of the room dropped a few degrees at her statement, a few of the present heroes shivering despite themselves.

No-one spoke for a moment, realising despite her outward appearance, the Director of the PRT ENE was indeed annoyed. A small huff from Miss Militia's direction bought a small spark of amusement, but was quickly quashed by the situation.

A movement out the corner of her eye and the whirr of servomotors heralded Armsmaster's rise from his seat to stand at the head of the table nearest the screen. Pressing a few buttons on his armour, the screen at the far end of the room flared to life, depicting a thoroughly tattered Winslow, bullet holes and plant life adorning it in equal measure.

"At one-thirteen this afternoon, a call was-"

"Not Winslow."

The armoured Tinker stopped, working his jaw as he was interrupted in his speech, managing to somehow look surprised despite the helmet that obscured half of his face from view.

"But we will get to that later." She continued, turning a small glare on the man before sweeping her gaze round the rest of the room.

"What I want to know is how a team this large and well equipped has sprung up under our nose _without us knowing a thing about it."_

The ensuing silence was somehow even more oppressive than before.

Despite her rather black humour, the question was a valid one. These 'Toa' had turned from a pair of reasonably well-equipped thorns in the Protectorate's side, to a team that just by sheer numbers alone could potentially give the Protectorate a run for their money. As it was they outnumbered every villain team in the bay save for the Empire. And wasn't that a sobering thought.

"Well…"

Seeing no-one else stepping up to answer the question, Armsmaster stepped up to answer the question.

"We still have the Thinker department working on the issue, but the preliminary reports suggest-"

"Forget the reports."

Once again, silence.

Despite her cold attitude, Piggot rarely made a point of speaking across someone.

Armsmaster stopped once again.

"If we have to find out the answer, only after the event, then it's no use. No, the problem is that we didn't know about it _beforehand."_

Piggot sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose in exasperation as she finished before straightening and turning to look at the assembled Parahumans once more.

"But that's a problem for tomorrow. What do we know?"

Armsmaster didn't waste any more time, another press of a button changing the image on the wall.

"As we know, the term 'Toa' refers to a Maori warrior or champion, one who protects the village from threats, be they opposing tribes or wild animals. This appears to drive Artakha, and by extension the rest of these 'Toa' in their approach to fighting crime. While Shadow Stalker is the member with the most appearances in combat, it is Artakha that is often seen assisting the emergency services in their duties, clearing paths to wounded civilians and ferrying needed medication and medical assistance to those in need, sometimes entirely forgoing ongoing battles in order to do so."

"She perceives the Protectorate to be failing in their duties of protecting the people of the city, and despite not attempting to use this to discredit us, her view _has_ been thrust into the public view. This, along with the goodwill engendered by this latest conflict see the Toa as valid alternative to the Protectorate in certain areas of the city. With the tensions between the gangs being what they are, this is something we can ill afford."

Piggot fought down a grimace. New triggers never took into account the powder keg the city was at the best of times, and these 'Toa' running round annoying the two biggest fish? Was it any surprise there was now outright war on the streets?

"Bring them in."

Armsmaster turned to look at her, pausing in his speech.

"It goes without saying that these 'Toa' are the catalyst for the current state of affairs. You spoke to one of their number, a 'Fragarach'?" A nod. "Good. Contact them and arrange a meeting. They need to learn they can't just run around with impunity. Not anymore."

Another nod and a press of a button were her only response before he launched back into the briefing.

"The first Parahuman to take the title of Toa was Artakha."

A press of a button and the image beside the Tinker shifted to a girl in a suit of gleaming silver armour, a vaguely tribalistic helm atop her head, frozen in the motion of bringing the blunt end of her spear down on the back of an Empire thug.

"While her first public appearance was to intercede in the Empire engagement with the Dockworker's Union, the Tinkertech retrieved by Velocity suggests otherwise."

The screen changed again, this time focusing on a large silver pistol resting on a mess of metal many recognised as characteristic of the Boat Graveyard. Whereas many pistols had a uniform barrel shape, or even tapered toward the end, the Tinkertech splayed into three prongs at the end, forming a somewhat spherical shape, leaving the top open.

"Although Velocity was unable to identify those involved, due to the sounds reported and the evidence left behind at the scene, it is likely the weapon was left behind after a weapons test or a practice spar between Artakha and Shadow Stalker. Given this, Artakha is more than likely the Tinker for the Toa, and is the one responsible for outfitting her team. The attack on the Dockworkers likely happened too soon both for Artakha to complete her weapons, or outfit Shadow Stalker with like armaments, hence the absence of the weaponry she is currently wielding."

"Despite this however, she appears to follow a set theme in the advent of her armour. Her own combat style is reminiscent of tribal armaments, namely her usage of spear and shield. This is also found in her usage of modular masks similar in design to the tiki masks of the region. Her abilities in other classifications stem from this phenomenon."

Another button press.

This time the screen shifted to display four different images of Artakha, the familiar silver armour and spear ever-present, but each image portrayed a different mask encasing the Toa's head.

"Several masks have been seen, specific designs reappearing, each appearing to bestow an additional power onto Artakha granting her enhanced speed, strength and even flight to name just a few."

"So she's a Trump too? Great."

The utterance was hard to pinpoint amongst the slight fervour the declaration caused, the murmuring only to die down immediately as Assault spoke up.

"So they may not even be Parahumans then?"

Silence.

"I mean, the connection's obvious right?"

The red-hued Striker leaned forward in his chair, levelling an incredulous look at the rest of the room.

"Look, Artakha has a pretty defined idea in her head of what a Hero should be right? We've all heard what her views are. So she sees us as not doing our jobs right? So after getting her powers, she refuses to join up with us, and instead pulls up a name from her past, one that originates from clear over the other side of the world and means nothing to us, and sets out to give it a new meaning. I'm impresses with the girl."

"Are you done with your theories Assault, or do you have anything useful to add?" Growled Piggot, one hand massaging at her temple.

The man just smiled before turning to Armsmaster.

"I'm guessing you have a picture of the aftermath right? The ice guy?"

Nodding once, the Tinker manipulated his interface once more, the screen switching once more to a street dominated by the jagged wall of ice that split the road into two distinct halves.

"If she believes that we're not doing our jobs, then given her determination, she'll aim to do something about it. She'll want to do what she sees we can't. And you're right. There isn't a way in which a team this large, this co-ordinated can just spring up overnight. So it didn't. You say she's a Trump that can give herself additional powers through these Masks of hers? Well who have we seen with them recently?"

"What makes you think that these guys who call themselves Toa are Parahumans at all?"

* * *

 **Costa-Brown**

Chief Director Costa-Brown leaned back in her chair with a sigh as the monitor in front of her winked out, leaving her staring at her own reflection in the screen that had once held Emily Piggot's stern countenance.

 _You're more right than you think Emily._ The head of the PRT mused as she idly rang up her receptionist to forestall her arrangements for the immediate future. This was something that needed to be addressed now.

 _She's far more limited than you think. But there's no way you could know that without having inside information, but what concerns me is the speed at which her team and her popularity have grown in such a short period of time. Considering everything, we should probably be thankful, but even still…_

"Door Me."

The statement uttered, a glowing portal opened just to the left of the office door. Stepping through without hesitation, the Director found herself in a familiar room. Blank white walls, minimalist features belying the fact that this was the last habitable place on an earth that was otherwise entirely scoured of life, and the centre of the organisation that would save the rest.

Only one other person was present as the clicking of her heels resounded throughout the otherwise silent room, causing the already present individual to look up at her approach. Looking away from the data pad she had been browsing, the woman known only as Doctor Mother regarded the Director with an inscrutable gaze, immediately being able to discern that something had changed.

"She's already gathered them." The Director pre-empted the Question. "Artakha already has her team. All Five of them."

A single raised eyebrow was the only reaction the other woman gave.

"Already?" She repeated. "Seems like sending Ignika to speed up the process was not entirely needed then. Still, she needed to know what she is up against. We have enough problems to deal with without this Makuta tracking down Mata Nui. All the more reason to keep him here. Still we now have a chance."

The Director grimaced at the statement.

"Yes. A _chance_. We can't even test it. We'll just have to be sure the alterations will work like he said they would when the time comes."

A tightening of her brow was the only outward sign of her thoughts as the Cape turned to peer at a seemingly mundane wall, thoughts running through her head.

"Hopefully better than ours did." She grimaced, thinking of yet another failed 'experiment', the most recent of a long list of hopes dashed. "The clones are yet to demonstrate any 'Toa' traits, so it seems like that method of bolstering our forces is unfeasible. How goes the analysis on the armour?"

As one, the two women's gazes shifted over to the corner of the room where a pair of armour stands took pride of place. One was mostly empty, save for the unresponsive form of the Ignika, sitting dormant on the head of the stand.

The other was more occupied.

From the waist down the stand was like it's other, empty. The torso, however was a different story. Gleaming golden armour rested upon the stand, made up of six distinct pieces. Chest, shoulders, shield, gauntlet and the helmet shaped like a Hau rested innocently on the metal frame, their stillness belying their power.

"We won't know until someone puts it all on." Doctor Mother sighed, turning away from the stand. But we have no reason to believe it won't work as he said it will. But we shouldn't rely on it, no."

"We have other contingencies in place."


End file.
